AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,270 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,641,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 10.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in shares of Matson by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,546 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Matson by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,189 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock traded up $3.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.26. 420,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $92.90 and a one year high of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $119.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MATX. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.33.

Matson 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.