Assetmark Inc. Acquires 2,296 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,164 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 2,296 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $6,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Matson by 1,661.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in Matson by 78.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 10,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 4,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 16.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,787 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MATX. Stephens increased their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research downgraded Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $133.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.50 and a 52 week high of $169.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.50 and its 200-day moving average is $141.36.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

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.