The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,486 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Matson worth $2,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 4,361 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 98.1% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 10,044 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 4,973 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 78.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 10,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Matson by 142.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 6,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 93.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Down 0.8 %

Matson stock opened at $151.14 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.57. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.58 and a 52-week high of $169.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.04.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $962.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $965.73 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s payout ratio is 11.31%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $79,339.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,254 shares in the company, valued at $686,000.04. This trade represents a 10.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.82, for a total transaction of $934,686.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,043,710.36. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,145 shares of company stock valued at $2,513,455 over the last quarter. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MATX. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

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.