Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock 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% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,201 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,331 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Matson worth $13,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Up 1.6 %

MATX opened at $94.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.83. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

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.

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