In Angular 5 I did with the following way. get the object $event.value instead of $event.target.value
<mat-form-field color="warn">
<mat-select (ngModelChange)="onChangeTown($event)" class="form-width" formControlName="branch" [(ngModel)]="branch" placeholder="Enter branch">
<mat-option *ngFor="let branch of branchs" [value]="branch.value">
{{ branch.name }}
</mat-option>
</mat-select>
</mat-form-field>
onChangeTown(event): void {
const selectedTown = event;
console.log('selectedTown: ', selectedTown);
}