Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 2.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 184,985 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,849 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $18,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $21,037,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 127,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,541,000 after purchasing an additional 34,631 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 102,721 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,393 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth about $740,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 75,943 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,689,000 after buying an additional 23,338 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $163.36 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $169.20.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MATX shares. Stephens raised their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.