Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Sells 600 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Matson EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares at an average price of $219.90, generating $131,940 and reducing his stake by 6.03% to 9,354 shares.
• Matson reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 versus the $3.79 consensus and revenue of $969.4 million, up 16.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share, while analysts maintained a bullish outlook with an average “Buy” rating and a $232.33 price target.

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,944.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Matson Stock Down 0.7%

MATX stock traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $216.79. The company had a trading volume of 192,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,875. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.97 and a fifty-two week high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Matson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Matson's payout ratio is 10.16%.

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $933,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $609,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 7.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,871 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,357,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Matson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $232.33.

Matson Company 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.

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