Matson, Inc. $MATX Shares Acquired by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S has increased its stake in Matson, Inc. (MATX) by 1,178% during Q1, acquiring an additional 47,757 shares and bringing its total ownership to approximately 51,811 shares.
• Institutional investors currently own 84.76% of Matson's stock, with several firms raising their holdings, highlighting strong interest in the company.
• Matson recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36, representing a 5.9% increase from the previous dividend, which indicates positive financial performance.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 1,178.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,811 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,757 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned about 0.16% of Matson worth $6,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MATX. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Matson by 424.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 958,170 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $121,428,000 after buying an additional 775,600 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $34,897,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter worth $23,325,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $56,157,000 after buying an additional 177,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 14,218.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 175,977 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $22,555,000 after buying an additional 174,748 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE MATX traded up $3.2580 during trading on Friday, reaching $106.1880. 431,097 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,483. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.41. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.75 and a 1 year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 14.26%.Matson's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.67.

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.