Boston Partners Raises Stock Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Matson were worth $24,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Matson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,217 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Matson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Matson by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MATX opened at $130.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.50 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $138.05 and a 200-day moving average of $141.01.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Activity at Matson

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