Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 7,500 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 89.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,900 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Matson were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,016,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,897,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 177,000 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $20,204,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Matson by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $89,432,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Down 1.2%

MATX traded down $1.38 on Monday, hitting $111.47. 60,424 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,811. The stock's fifty day moving average is $109.62 and its 200-day moving average is $130.07. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.75 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,182 shares of company stock worth $1,606,286 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.33.

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.