Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $3.24 Million Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,013 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 17,959 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Matson worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens decreased their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three 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 company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,682 shares of company stock worth $1,550,551. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 364,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,886. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $113.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.87. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.75 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

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.