Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 23,564 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management increased its Matson stake by 18.3%, acquiring 23,564 shares to own 152,626 shares worth about $15.05 million (≈0.49% of the company).
• Matson beat quarterly estimates with $4.60 EPS versus $3.69 expected and $851.9M in revenue (revenue down 4.3% y/y), and it pays a $0.36 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.44, ~0.9% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers (40,041 shares sold, ~$6.65M over the last quarter), while analysts remain mixed—consensus "Hold" with a $156.25 target though some firms have higher price targets up to $213.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,626 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,564 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.49% of Matson worth $15,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 27.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $65,770,000 after buying an additional 128,994 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Matson by 6.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 317,422 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $35,345,000 after buying an additional 19,508 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Matson by 79.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 216,645 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $24,123,000 after buying an additional 95,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Matson by 37.4% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 127,208 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $12,541,000 after buying an additional 34,631 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Trading Up 2.4%

MATX stock opened at $157.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.09. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $177.51. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.32.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Matson's payout ratio is currently 10.33%.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total value of $339,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,484 shares in the company, valued at $2,289,448.36. The trade was a 12.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 8,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.13, for a total value of $1,429,216.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,943,593.94. This represents a 26.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,645,707. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MATX. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc NYSE: MATX is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson's ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.