Man Group plc Sells 23,091 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,272 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 23,091 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.06% of Matson worth $2,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded down $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $109.18. 241,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 341,191. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 1.30. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $111.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.97.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07% 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, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,682 shares of company stock valued at $1,550,551 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.33.

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.