Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $4.33 Million Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 32,100 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $4,328,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Matson as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Matson by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 1.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Trading Down 2.7 %

Matson stock traded down $3.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $127.04. The stock had a trading volume of 215,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,713. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.05. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. 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.