Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 139.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,453 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,578 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,682 shares of company stock worth $1,550,551 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $114.81 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.75 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Matson Profile

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.