Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,669 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,920 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Matson worth $12,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $35,016,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,897,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Matson by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 177,000 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Matson by 14,218.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 175,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 174,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,204,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens lowered their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Matson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.67.

Matson Stock Down 6.5%

Matson stock opened at $104.32 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.75.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly 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). Matson had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is 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.