London Co. of Virginia Sells 1,176 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

London Co. of Virginia trimmed its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 273,843 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,176 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Matson were worth $36,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Matson by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,570,000 after acquiring an additional 36,156 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Matson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,707,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $4,328,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Matson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,172 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $96.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Matson

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.