Natixis Advisors L.P. Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,180 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Matson by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,911 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 6.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Matson by 11.9% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 22,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 170.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 70,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,260,000 after purchasing an additional 44,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Matson by 2,031.4% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 2,984 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Down 0.8 %

MATX opened at $115.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.93 and a 1-year high of $122.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.05. Matson had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $722.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $730.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Matson’s payout ratio is 15.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,261.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,171 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $126,268.93. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.60, for a total value of $98,765.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,492,547. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,864 shares of company stock valued at $539,979 over the last 90 days. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.