California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 1,698 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,218 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of Matson worth $5,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,655,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $561,594,000 after acquiring an additional 153,723 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Matson by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,191,943 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $134,849,000 after buying an additional 103,659 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Matson by 6.2% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,104,874 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $253,890,000 after buying an additional 122,200 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Matson by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 471,505 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,474,000 after buying an additional 181,751 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Matson by 25.8% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 359,080 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,170,000 after acquiring an additional 73,687 shares during the last quarter. 83.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $70.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.51 and a 52 week high of $95.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.41.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Matson had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.34 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 10th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Matson from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Matson from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity at Matson

In related news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total value of $186,244.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,248.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $186,244.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,568 shares in the company, valued at $308,248.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark H. Fukunaga bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.59 per share, for a total transaction of $100,027.07. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 24,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,545,046.23. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,941 shares of company stock worth $1,764,803 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Matson Profile

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Matson, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of logistics and transportation services. It operates through the Ocean Transportation and Logistics segments. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation, container stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, and other terminal services.