Matson, Inc. $MATX Position Boosted by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,907 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Global Investments grew its position in Matson by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 11,867 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $760,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $1,725,000. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $6,303,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.25.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,595,926.14. This represents a 21.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares in the company, valued at $1,979,206.96. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock valued at $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $204.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.43. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $207.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is 10.58%.

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.