Norges Bank Makes New $2.12 Million Investment in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 135,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.17% of Marten Transport as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in Marten Transport by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,902,000 after acquiring an additional 569,700 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 3,788.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 256,651 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,663,000 after purchasing an additional 189,996 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,732,000 after buying an additional 185,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,146,000 after buying an additional 175,059 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of Marten Transport stock opened at $13.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.16 and a 200-day moving average of $15.65. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $12.52 and a 52-week high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32 and a beta of 1.01.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Marten Transport 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.