JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 323,124 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,156 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.97% of Matson worth $43,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $122,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Matson by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Matson by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 741,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,620. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.12. The company's fifty day moving average price is $130.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.21. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.84 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.

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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 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 the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, 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 value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens boosted their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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.

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.