Royce & Associates LP Sells 2,867 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 59.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,867 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Matson were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 339.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $128.95 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The firm 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%. Research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

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.