Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 54.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,390 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 12,414 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Matson were worth $1,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 11.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Matson by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,570,000 after buying an additional 36,156 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Matson in the 1st quarter worth about $507,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Matson by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,707,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $4,328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bradley D. Tilden purchased 2,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $111.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,563.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $914,196.80. The trade was a 50.70% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,738,811.28. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Matson stock opened at $116.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.65. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.75 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.96%.

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.