Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 47,202 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors trimmed its stake in Matson by 2.4%, selling 47,202 shares in the quarter and now owning 1,961,330 shares (about 6.29% of the company) valued at roughly $193.37 million.
• Company insiders have been selling too — VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares and EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares, with insiders disposing of 40,041 shares (~$6.65 million) in the last quarter and now owning 2.05% of Matson.
• Matson beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.60 vs. $3.69) and posted $851.9M in revenue, yet analysts' consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $156.25 while Stephens has raised its target to $213.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,961,330 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 47,202 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.29% of Matson worth $193,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Matson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,154,000 after purchasing an additional 6,778 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Matson by 11.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,135,000 after buying an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total transaction of $421,709.92. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $389,463.48. This trade represents a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total transaction of $2,150,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,407,067.34. This trade represents a 28.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,645,707. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $167.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.25.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock opened at $152.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.32. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $177.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.49 and a 200-day moving average of $122.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $847.30 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.80 EPS. Matson's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.33%.

About Matson

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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