Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,468 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Matson by 35.4% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,771 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Matson by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,219 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Matson by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the first quarter worth approximately $929,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 104.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 900 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $84.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.51 and a 1 year high of $97.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.63.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Matson had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $773.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $762.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 38.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 2nd. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MATX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Matson from $73.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Matson from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 678 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.30, for a total value of $51,731.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $936,658.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.45, for a total transaction of $78,590.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $796,914.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.30, for a total value of $51,731.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $936,658.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,538 shares of company stock worth $3,453,533 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides ocean transportation and logistics services. The company's Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.