Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 5,295 Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,295 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 109.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 415 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at $78,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $126,268.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $108.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.51 and a twelve month high of $122.99. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.34.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The shipping company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.03. Matson had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $788.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Matson from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

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.