Assetmark Inc. Acquires 4,019 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 8.0% during the first quarter, owning 54,183 shares valued at approximately $6.95 million.
• Matson reported earnings of $2.18 per share, missing estimates by $0.16, with revenues of $782 million compared to expectations of $818.07 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, which is an increase from the previous $0.34, representing an annual yield of 1.32%.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,183 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,019 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.17% of Matson worth $6,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MATX. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Matson by 14.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,069 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Matson in the 1st quarter valued at about $585,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Matson by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 28,644 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the first quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $872,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 5,644 shares in the company, valued at $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden acquired 2,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $914,196.80. This trade represents a 50.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE:MATX traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $107.11. The company had a trading volume of 136,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,245. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $111.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.49%.

About Matson

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.