Northern Trust Corp Acquires 61,204 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,432 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 61,204 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.46% of Matson worth $65,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 4.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Matson by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX traded up $15.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.89. The company had a trading volume of 180,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,829. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $114.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.36. 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 $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Matson's payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.