Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 186.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,300 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Matson were worth $580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lodge Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,348,000. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 16,199 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,424,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Matson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,172 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $31,306,000 after acquiring an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Matson by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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.

Matson Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of MATX stock traded up $4.27 on Monday, hitting $106.65. The stock had a trading volume of 681,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,438. The company's 50 day moving average price is $122.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.51. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.90 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

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.