HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,572 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Matson by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,366 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after buying an additional 4,361 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Matson by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $512,000. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE:MATX opened at $130.02 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.50 and a 52 week high of $169.12. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.01.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, 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 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

About Matson

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.