BlackRock Inc. Acquires New Stake in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired a major new Matson stake, purchasing 4.96 million shares valued at approximately $952.9 million and owning 16.58% of the company at quarter-end. Institutional investors collectively hold 84.76% of MATX.
• Matson reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates of $3.79 and revenue rising 16.7% year over year to $969.4 million. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.36 to $0.38 per share.
• Shares opened at $223.14 after gaining 2.9%, while analysts remained broadly positive: Matson has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $232.33, with JPMorgan and Stephens raising their targets to $270 and $260, respectively.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,957,097 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $952,903,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 16.58% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,276,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $32,940,000 after buying an additional 22,516 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 887.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,441,000 after acquiring an additional 51,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total transaction of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,986 shares in the company, valued at $3,301,690.02. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $527,884.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,951,625.68. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,169 shares of company stock valued at $2,933,211. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matson Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $223.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $206.47 and its 200 day moving average is $183.63. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. Research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $232.33.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc NYSE: MATX is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson's ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.

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