17,842 Shares in Matson, Inc. $MATX Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 17,842 Matson shares worth approximately $3.43 million, while institutional investors collectively own 84.76% of the company.
• Analysts have turned more bullish, with multiple upgrades and price-target increases; Matson has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average target of $232.33.
• Matson reported strong quarterly results, with earnings and revenue exceeding estimates and revenue rising 16.7% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,842 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $3,430,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Matson as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Matson by 8.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Matson by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,778 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Matson during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Matson by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $232.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,359,574.10. This represents a 16.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $399,675.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,590,778.70. This trade represents a 20.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,089 shares of company stock worth $1,975,717. Corporate insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock opened at $214.41 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.90. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. Matson's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is 10.16%.

Matson Company 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.

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