Baird Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,201 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,331 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Matson worth $13,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $542,759,000 after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $141,551,000 after purchasing an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Matson by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $101,590,000 after purchasing an additional 58,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $89,432,000 after buying an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matson Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $3.38 on Tuesday, hitting $117.32. The company had a trading volume of 363,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,962. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $114.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is 8.96%.

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.