Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Takes $202,000 Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,016,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Matson by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 346,589 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,734,000 after purchasing an additional 108,774 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at $13,704,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $141,551,000 after buying an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Price Performance

MATX opened at $112.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $135.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.91. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.50 and a 1 year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MATX shares. Stephens raised their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Company 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.