Diversified Trust Co Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,154 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,798,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in Matson by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,598 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.33.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $114.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,789. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The company's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

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.