Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,454 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,950 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $15,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 754.4% during the third quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 222,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 196,894 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Matson by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 471,505 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,474,000 after buying an additional 181,751 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,655,892 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $561,594,000 after acquiring an additional 153,723 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 109.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 285,393 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,424,000 after acquiring an additional 149,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Matson by 79.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 294,272 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,103,000 after purchasing an additional 130,335 shares in the last quarter. 83.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $659,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 261,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,233,171.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.18, for a total value of $545,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,081,258.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $659,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 261,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,233,171.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,941 shares of company stock worth $1,764,803 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE:MATX opened at $71.39 on Wednesday. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.51 and a 1-year high of $95.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Matson (NYSE:MATX – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.34 million. Matson had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 33.72%. Matson’s revenue was down 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 11th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 10th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MATX. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Matson from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Matson from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th.

Matson Profile

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Matson, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of logistics and transportation services. It operates through the Ocean Transportation and Logistics segments. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation, container stevedoring, refrigerated cargo services, inland transportation, and other terminal services.