Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $365,000 in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,709 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Matson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $24,707,000 after acquiring an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,328,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Finally, Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Matson by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,172 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $31,306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reduced their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of Matson stock traded up $0.99 on Wednesday, reaching $94.10. 841,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 317,856. 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 cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $117.51 and its 200-day moving average is $135.11. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.83 and a one year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Matson's payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Matson Company 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.