Vest Financial LLC Reduces Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Vest Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 67.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,810 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 12,026 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Matson were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,370,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,067 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Matson by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 103,398 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 180,956 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $114.42. The company had a trading volume of 308,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.14. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Matson's payout ratio is 8.96%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the firm'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 value of $55,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. This trade represents a 50.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.