South Dakota Investment Council Has $233,000 Stock Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 80.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,814 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 7,256 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Matson were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,016,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,897,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 73.9% in the 4th 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 raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 14,218.7% in the 1st 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 bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,204,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Down 0.1%

MATX traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $108.85. 98,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,574. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $111.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.19. 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 $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, Director Bradley D. Tilden bought 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.