Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $4.05 Million Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 194.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,628 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,881 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.10% of Matson worth $4,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE MATX traded down $2.11 on Wednesday, hitting $108.81. 277,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,058. 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 twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50 day moving average price is $109.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.20.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Matson's payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the business'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,136.68. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.