Premier Fund Managers Ltd Makes New $449,000 Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired 3,533 shares of Matson, Inc. valued at approximately $449,000 in the first quarter, marking a new position in the shipping company.
• Institutional investors own 84.76% of Matson's stock, with several firms like Vanguard Group and Ameriprise Financial increasing their stakes.
• Matson has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.34, reflecting an increased commitment to shareholder returns.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,533 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $35,016,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $34,897,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 174,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $20,204,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $106.59. 422,719 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,626. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $111.24 and a 200 day moving average of $120.24. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a boost 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 is currently 8.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MATX shares. Stephens lowered their price target 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 shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.67.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.