Bailard Inc. Buys 1,950 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 59.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,250 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Matson were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 339.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $902,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 14,083 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,899,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Matson by 31.4% in 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 during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Matson from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

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Matson Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MATX traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.02. 383,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,042. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.38. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.50 and a 52 week 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.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Matson 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.