Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Reduces Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 75.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,515 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 4,583 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Matson were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Matson by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 0.5% during 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 period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Matson by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of Matson stock traded down $3.07 on Friday, hitting $96.19. 606,620 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 323,691. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $114.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.33.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. Matson's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.41%. Matson's payout ratio is 8.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MATX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Insider Activity

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

About Matson

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.