Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Increases Holdings in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking increased its Matson stake by 38.1% in Q1, and several other hedge funds also added to their positions. Institutional investors now own about 84.76% of the shipping company’s shares.
• Matson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, topping estimates, though revenue came in below expectations and was down 3.1% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share from $0.36, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $181.25 average target price.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,553 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,224 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Matson worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 worth $5,300,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Matson by 4.6% in 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 buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 7.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,154,000 after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MATX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.25.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $202.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.28. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $207.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.Matson's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson's payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 7,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $1,292,502.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,595,926.14. The trade was a 21.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total value of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,301,690.02. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268. 2.51% of the stock is 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.

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