Paradiem LLC Acquires 14,165 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Paradiem LLC grew its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,716 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,165 shares during the quarter. Matson makes up 2.3% of Paradiem LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Paradiem LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Matson worth $8,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MATX. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,107,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in Matson by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 4,866 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Matson by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,996 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Matson by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,911 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Matson by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Matson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 20th.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $108.94. The stock had a trading volume of 171,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,083. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.71 and a fifty-two week high of $122.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $109.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.51.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $788.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.27%.

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.