Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 101,631 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,704,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Matson as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Matson by 10.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 286,968 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $40,927,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,707,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $4,328,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Matson by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $127.04 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $136.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 52-week low of $100.50 and a 52-week high of $169.12.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

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.