Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $695,000 Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,365 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,907,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 56.5% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,462,000 after purchasing an additional 374,755 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 452,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,920,000 after purchasing an additional 93,417 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $17,613,000 after purchasing an additional 91,508 shares during the period. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,141,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Marten Transport Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $17.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.67 and its 200-day moving average is $18.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.79. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $15.33 and a 12-month high of $23.38.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $262.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.80%.

About Marten Transport

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.