Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.95 Million Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 288,223 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,351 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Marten Transport worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRTN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,548 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 9.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.01 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $12.52 and a 12-month high of $19.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 0.99.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 2.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 176,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 22.90% of the stock is 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.