Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 3,141 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,268 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 3,141 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.22% of Matson worth $9,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Matson by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Matson by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $4,328,000. One Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 180,956 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens increased their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $98.47. The stock had a trading volume of 79,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,894. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.64 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company's 50-day moving average is $129.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.65.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Matson's payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.