Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,236 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 5,280 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.57% of Matson worth $23,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MATX. U S Global Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 22.9% during the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,009 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Matson in the first quarter valued at about $917,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Matson in the first quarter valued at about $310,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 194.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,628 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,054,000 after acquiring an additional 20,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RHS Financial LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 12.8% in the first quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $111.76 per share, with a total value of $307,563.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.33.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of Matson stock traded up $2.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $115.01. The stock had a trading volume of 91,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,855. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.28. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The business's 50-day moving average is $111.14 and its 200 day moving average is $123.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick 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 the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.96%.

About Matson

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.