Norges Bank Buys New Holdings in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a new position in Matson, buying 139,829 shares worth about $17.3 million in the fourth quarter and ending with roughly 0.45% ownership of the company.
• Several Matson insiders sold shares recently, including SVPs Christopher A. Scott and Kuuhaku T. Park; insiders have sold 23,963 shares worth about $4.35 million over the past 90 days.
• Matson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $181.25.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 139,829 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $17,276,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.45% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Matson by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total value of $275,196.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,633.40. This trade represents a 13.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $450,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,979,206.96. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MATX. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.25.

Matson Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:MATX opened at $194.60 on Wednesday. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $197.63. The business's 50-day moving average price is $177.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.29.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.58%.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc NYSE: MATX is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson's ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.

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