Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Invests $13.70 Million in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 101,631 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,704,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Matson by 339.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Matson by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX stock opened at $127.04 on Monday. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.50 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.97 and its 200-day moving average is $141.18.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

About Matson

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.