Wellington Management Group LLP Takes $2.71 Million Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,059 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,705,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Matson at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MATX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,798,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Matson Price Performance

MATX traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,895. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.72 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $126.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson's payout ratio is 9.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens boosted their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson 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.