Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly reduced its holdings in Matson, Inc., cutting its position by 75.1% in the first quarter, after selling 788,576 shares.
• Matson reported $2.18 earnings per share for the last quarter, which was below analyst estimates, along with revenues of $782 million, missing expectations by approximately $36 million.
• The company announced a new quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.34, and signaling a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 75.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,196 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 788,576 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.80% of Matson worth $33,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $43,570,000 after acquiring an additional 36,156 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $507,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,669 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,390,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $56,157,000 after acquiring an additional 177,000 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX traded down $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.42. 55,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,666. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.28. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The business's fifty day moving average is $111.24 and its 200-day moving average is $120.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Matson's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MATX. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.