Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $2.60 Million in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned about 0.06% of Matson at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 339.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Matson by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MATX stock opened at $129.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.24.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Matson Profile

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.