Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 190.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,985 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 11,141 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Matson worth $2,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MATX stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $98.29. The stock had a trading volume of 394,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,690. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.72 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $127.87 and a 200 day moving average of $138.07. 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. The business had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm'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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.