Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 2,671 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,644 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.09% of Matson worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Matson by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 112.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at $914,196.80. This represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,738,811.28. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Stephens dropped their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.67.

Matson Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MATX traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.97. 357,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,654. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.28. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $830.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $727.30 million. Matson had a return on equity of 20.02% and a net margin of 14.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS 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 dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Matson 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.