Vanguard Group Inc. Has $542.76 Million Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.12% of Matson worth $542,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MATX. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $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 grew its position in Matson by 339.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $132.21. The company had a trading volume of 174,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,397. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.16. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.78 million. Analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Matson's payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

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.