Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Sells $510,788.68 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,059.32. The trade was a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Matson Trading Down 0.6%

MATX opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $230.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.02.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens boosted their target price on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 3.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 57.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Matson by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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.