LPL Financial LLC Purchases 1,084 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.05% of Matson worth $2,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Matson by 339.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Matson by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.1% in the 4th 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MATX opened at $102.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.84 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.92.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $890.30 million during 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%. Analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MATX shares. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by company 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.