First Hawaiian Bank Sells 19,325 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank reduced its holdings in Matson, Inc. by 41.9%, selling 19,325 shares and retaining 26,761 shares, valued at approximately $3.43 million.
• Matson recently reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.74, despite a 2.0% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, up from $0.34, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 9.74%.

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 41.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,761 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 19,325 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank owned 0.08% of Matson worth $3,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 6.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,158,834 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $148,528,000 after purchasing an additional 71,902 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Matson by 424.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 958,170 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $121,428,000 after buying an additional 775,600 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 1.0% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 603,634 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $77,368,000 after purchasing an additional 6,135 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 461,769 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $59,188,000 after buying an additional 45,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,746 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $45,212,000 after purchasing an additional 6,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.67.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX traded up $1.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.89 and a 200 day moving average of $111.76.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. Matson had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $727.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Company Profile

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.