Citigroup Inc. Has $9.57 Million Holdings in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stock position in Matson, Inc. by 53.3% in Q1, bringing its total shares to 74,679, valued at approximately $9.57 million.
• In addition to Citigroup, several institutional investors, including Bessemer Group and Parallel Advisors, significantly increased their ownership in Matson, leading to 84.76% institutional ownership of the company.
• Matson announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.34 to $0.36 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 9.74%.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 53.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,679 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,963 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.23% of Matson worth $9,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Matson by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 26,929 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,749 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $11,967,000 after buying an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Matson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,890 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $4,328,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded up $1.0920 on Thursday, hitting $102.7620. The company had a trading volume of 362,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,662. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.75 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.