Advisors Preferred LLC Makes New $2.25 Million Investment in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,031 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at about $390,000. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Matson during the second quarter valued at about $4,085,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,351,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MATX opened at $216.79 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $230.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.15, for a total transaction of $1,100,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,514,395.90. This trade represents a 19.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,359,574.10. This trade represents a 16.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,169 shares of company stock valued at $2,933,211. 2.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Matson

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source