Banque Pictet & Cie SA Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,689 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 2.5% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,503 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 8.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,669 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $12,390,000 after acquiring an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Matson in the first quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 186,236 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $23,870,000 after acquiring an additional 5,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 22.9% in the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $629,136.68. The trade was a 8.14% 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, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $914,196.80. This 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 insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded down $2.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $113.56. The stock had a trading volume of 397,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,178. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.48 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.53.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's payout ratio is 8.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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 reduced their target price 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 reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

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.