Northern Trust Corp Increases Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 933,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.15% of Marten Transport worth $14,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 42,417 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 280,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 48,944 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter valued at $312,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. The trade was a 12.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68 and a beta of 1.04. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $12.52 and a 52-week high of $19.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.08.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. The company had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. Analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.