EAM Global Investors LLC Buys Shares of 17,976 Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

EAM Global Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 17,976 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,424,000. EAM Global Investors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Matson as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 26,366 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Matson by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,707,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,328,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Trading Down 4.7 %

NYSE MATX traded down $4.63 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $93.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 94,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.01 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.76.

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 firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens raised their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value 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 trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company'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 transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.