Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,706 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 3,617 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of Matson worth $3,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 31.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % 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 insiders.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded down $2.18 on Tuesday, hitting $100.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 509,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,678. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.84 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.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. 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.