Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 3,617 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Matson worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Matson by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,366 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Matson by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,707,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $4,328,000. One Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 180,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after buying an additional 4,945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 0.0 %

Matson stock opened at $101.93 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.84 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.21.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens raised their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

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.