Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $4.33 Million in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 32,100 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $4,328,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Matson at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 339.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Matson by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Up 0.4 %

MATX stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.44. 624,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,544. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.90 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $121.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Matson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Matson in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.