Wells Fargo & Company MN Raises Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,929 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,490 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.08% of Matson worth $3,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter worth $3,641,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in Matson by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,546 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MATX stock opened at $96.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.17. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.90 and a 12-month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. The business 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. 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 target price 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.

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