Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $21.67 Million Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Matson stake by 16.1% in the second quarter, holding 112,722 shares valued at approximately $21.67 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.76% of Matson.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.33; several firms recently raised their targets, though Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Matson reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $969.4 million, beating estimates and growing revenue 16.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,722 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,657 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Matson worth $21,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson in the second quarter valued at approximately $952,903,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Matson by 14,734.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,706,810 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $328,100,000 after buying an additional 1,695,304 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 144.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Matson during the third quarter worth about $26,415,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter worth about $50,637,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of Matson 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 $1,590,778.70. The trade was a 20.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Ku‘uhaku Park sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at $2,081,564.16. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,462 shares of company stock valued at $2,695,832. Insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

MATX opened at $230.17 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $214.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $232.42.

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 (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.92 EPS. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc is a transportation and logistics company that provides ocean shipping and related supply-chain services. Through its Matson Navigation subsidiary, the company transports containerized and non-containerized freight, automobiles, food, household goods, construction materials and other cargo.

Matson operates ocean transportation services connecting the U.S. mainland with Hawaii, Alaska and select destinations in the South Pacific and Micronesia. The company also provides expedited service between China and the United States and maintains logistics operations that support domestic and international freight movement.

Matson Logistics offers intermodal transportation, freight forwarding, warehousing, supply-chain management and other distribution services.

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