Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.15% of Marten Transport worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at $505,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth $12,907,000. Scopus Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth $1,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 753,287 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,847,000 after buying an additional 26,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $17.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.77. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $15.33 and a 52-week high of $23.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. Marten Transport had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $249.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Marten Transport’s revenue was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRTN shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Marten Transport in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.