Edgestream Partners L.P. Invests $8.37 Million in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 65,332 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $8,374,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.20% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $4,328,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 185.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 17,188 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 11,169 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,300 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,572 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,434 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.42. The stock had a trading volume of 307,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,139. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.75 and a 52 week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. 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. Matson's payout ratio is presently 9.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 14,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,811.28. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. This trade represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.