BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires Shares of 4,054 Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,054 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $35,016,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Matson by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $89,432,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Matson by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 346,589 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $46,734,000 after buying an additional 108,774 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $13,704,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of 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 price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $4.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $106.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 681,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,438. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.90 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.51. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. 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.