Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 27,556 Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has acquired 27,556 shares of Matson, Inc., valued at approximately $3.53 million, representing about 0.08% ownership of the company.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors made significant changes to their positions in Matson, including a 495.3% increase in stake by the State of Wyoming.
• Matson, Inc. has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.36 per share, reflecting a positive change in its annualized dividend yield to 1.4%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,556 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Matson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Matson by 495.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 381 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Matson by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Matson by 676.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 769 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

Matson Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Matson stock traded up $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 277,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,277. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average is $108.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.74. Matson had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $727.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,044 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president owned 13,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,477,703.54. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.