Matson, Inc. $MATX Shares Bought by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Matson, Inc. by 2.0%, now owning 1.08% of the company valued at approximately $45.2 million.
• Matson recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.92 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $830.5 million, although this marked a 2.0% decline compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36 per share, up from $0.34, representing an annualized yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 9.74%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 352,746 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,747 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.08% of Matson worth $45,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Matson by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 676.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 769 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 112.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.94, for a total value of $114,777.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,477,703.54. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MATX stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $105.48. The stock had a trading volume of 157,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,194. The firm's 50-day moving average is $108.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.76. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Matson 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.