California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 4,577 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,461 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 4,577 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of Matson worth $8,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $542,759,000 after buying an additional 11,357 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $141,551,000 after purchasing an additional 91,172 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Matson by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $43,570,000 after acquiring an additional 36,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,016,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $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 50-day moving average price of $130.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.21. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.84 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MATX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens increased their price target 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.

Matson Company 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.