Empowered Funds LLC Invests $4.49 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new $4.49 million stake in Matson during the second quarter, purchasing 23,365 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 84.76% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Matson has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $232.33, with Stephens and JPMorgan recently raising their targets to $260 and $270, respectively.
• Matson reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share and revenue of $969.4 million, both exceeding estimates. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, while several insiders sold shares recently.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 23,365 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $4,491,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.08% of Matson as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Matson by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 7.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,154,000 after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 11.3% during 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 worth $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.33.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $223.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $209.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.33. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. 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. Matson's payout ratio is currently 10.16%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $399,675.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,590,778.70. This trade represents a 20.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,223,716 in the last ninety days. 2.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Matson Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source