Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. Sells 2,293 Shares of Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $223.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $207.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.17. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $230.74. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Stephens boosted their price target on Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,276,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,940,000 after purchasing an additional 22,516 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 887.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 51,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.