Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $3.50 Million Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,973 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $3,502,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.08% of Matson as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Matson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,598 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Matson Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MATX traded down $0.85 on Thursday, reaching $111.82. The stock had a trading volume of 373,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,312. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Matson's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,811.28. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $55,735.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,644 shares in the company, valued at $629,136.68. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.