Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Leonard Isotoff Sells 1,250 Shares

Key Points

• Matson SVP Leonard Isotoff sold 1,250 shares at an average price of $208.30, generating $260,375 and reducing his holdings by 16.07% to 6,527 shares.
• Matson reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 exceeding estimates of $3.79 and revenue rising 16.7% year over year to $969.4 million.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and $232.33 price target; Matson also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38 per share.

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) SVP Leonard Isotoff sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.30, for a total transaction of $260,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,359,574.10. The trade was a 16.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX traded up $10.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.41. 239,233 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $202.49 and a 200-day moving average of $180.52.

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

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Matson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Matson by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Matson by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company's stock.

About Matson

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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