Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,790 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $542,759,000 after purchasing an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Matson by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $101,590,000 after buying an additional 58,027 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $89,432,000 after buying an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Matson by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 484,432 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $65,321,000 after buying an additional 61,204 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 307,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $111.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.29. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.75 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's payout ratio is currently 9.49%.

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.