Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 410 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,267 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $542,759,000 after buying an additional 11,357 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after acquiring an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $141,551,000 after acquiring an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Matson by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 346,589 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,734,000 after acquiring an additional 108,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Matson by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,570,000 after purchasing an additional 36,156 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX stock opened at $94.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.46. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.90 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Matson Company 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.