Matson, Inc. $MATX Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 6.1%, owning approximately 0.18% of the company valued at $7.64 million.
• Matson recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, up from $0.34, representing a yield of 1.4%.
• Several analysts have lowered their price targets for Matson, with the consensus currently at $131.67 and a rating of "Hold."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,592 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Matson worth $7,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $34,897,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the first quarter worth $23,325,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 177,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 14,218.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 175,977 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 174,748 shares during the period. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $20,204,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of MATX traded up $3.2580 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.1880. The company had a trading volume of 431,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,483. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.22. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The company's fifty day moving average price is $109.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.41.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Matson's payout ratio is presently 9.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total transaction of $114,777.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. This represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MATX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.67.

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.