Danske Bank A S Invests $12.35 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 64,249 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,351,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the third quarter worth $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE MATX opened at $216.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $206.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.36. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.91 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 10.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total value of $1,100,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,514,395.90. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,574.10. This trade represents a 16.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,169 shares of company stock valued at $2,933,211. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.