Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $28,000 Investment in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the first quarter valued at $24,122,000. Empirical Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,997,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,406,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,506,000 after purchasing an additional 451,340 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Marten Transport by 13.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,881,000 after purchasing an additional 162,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marten Transport in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,988,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $17.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.60. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93 and a beta of 0.77. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.38.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The firm had revenue of $246.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRTN shares. Vertical Research downgraded Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marten Transport news, COO Adam Daniel Phillips sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $82,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,596.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marten Transport Company 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.