O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,451 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Matson worth $5,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $4,709,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Matson by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,707 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,566 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 109.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

MATX traded down $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $128.82. 285,168 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,524. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.09. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $133.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $123.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $722.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.44 million. Matson had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Matson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total transaction of $1,580,060.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 126,418 shares in the company, valued at $15,579,754.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Matson news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.60, for a total value of $98,765.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,547. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 12,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total transaction of $1,580,060.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 126,418 shares in the company, valued at $15,579,754.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,180 shares of company stock worth $5,943,909. 2.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Company 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.