Meeder Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 62.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,773 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 14,634 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Matson were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,655,892 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $561,594,000 after purchasing an additional 153,723 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Matson by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,104,874 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $253,890,000 after acquiring an additional 122,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 718,152 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $42,852,000 after purchasing an additional 30,494 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 11.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 653,613 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $57,989,000 after purchasing an additional 65,736 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 78.5% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 449,441 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $34,935,000 after purchasing an additional 197,658 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Matson Price Performance

MATX traded up $1.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $113.22. The stock had a trading volume of 215,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,066. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $56.74 and a one year high of $122.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.70 and a 200-day moving average of $103.58.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. Matson had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $788.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Matson's payout ratio is 15.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,261.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.32% 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.