Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 933,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 40,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $14,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $157,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.08. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.68 and a beta of 1.04. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $12.52 and a 1 year high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $228.79 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.88 per share, with a total value of $257,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,598.72. The trade was a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Profile

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United State, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services.