KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $674,000 Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 339.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens upped their price objective on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

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Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock traded down $2.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.26. The stock had a trading volume of 433,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,191. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.50 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $135.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on 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 owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.