Northern Trust Corp Sells 264,896 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 28.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 668,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 264,896 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $9,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Marten Transport by 5.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 120,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 5,874 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Marten Transport by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 183,399 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after buying an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Marten Transport by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 432,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after buying an additional 169,057 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Marten Transport by 644.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,507,000 after buying an additional 194,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Marten Transport by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 31,852 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 4,046 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Down 0.2%

MRTN stock opened at $11.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.14. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $11.43 and a twelve month high of $18.63. The firm has a market cap of $957.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15 and a beta of 0.99.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The firm had revenue of $229.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.09 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

About Marten Transport

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.