Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,121 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,011 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 11,121 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of Matson worth $25,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 4,167,726.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 958,600 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $136,716,000 after acquiring an additional 958,577 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 126.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $31,448,000 after purchasing an additional 134,092 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $46,680,000 after purchasing an additional 122,017 shares in the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Matson by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,455 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $30,445,000 after purchasing an additional 77,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $6,735,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Price Performance

MATX stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.64. 93,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,373. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.50 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.04.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.50, for a total value of $124,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,109,297.50. The trade was a 5.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $79,339.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,000.04. This represents a 10.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,145 shares of company stock valued at $2,513,455 over the last 90 days. 2.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Matson from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th.

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.