Everence Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,230 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 4,167,726.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 958,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $136,716,000 after buying an additional 958,577 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 126.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 240,117 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $31,448,000 after purchasing an additional 134,092 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 52.1% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 356,416 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,680,000 after purchasing an additional 122,017 shares during the period. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Matson by 50.2% in the second quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 232,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,445,000 after purchasing an additional 77,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in Matson in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,735,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research cut Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Matson Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MATX opened at $140.11 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.95 and a 200 day moving average of $137.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.07.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $965.73 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 11.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 5,404 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.36, for a total value of $877,393.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,952 shares in the company, valued at $5,350,086.72. This trade represents a 14.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rusty K. Rolfe sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.97, for a total transaction of $497,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,871 shares in the company, valued at $3,629,929.87. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,646 shares of company stock worth $1,578,768. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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.