UBS Group AG Has $3.41 Million Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 36,557 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.37% of Marten Transport worth $3,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRTN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 921,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,827,000 after buying an additional 518,280 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 2,296.2% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 444,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,736,000 after buying an additional 425,767 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 6,122,415 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,265,000 after buying an additional 376,487 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 589,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after buying an additional 284,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 1,527.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 237,125 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after buying an additional 222,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRTN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Marten Transport from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Stephens downgraded Marten Transport from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marten Transport presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN opened at $16.69 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.70. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $9.35 and a 52-week high of $16.78. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.85 and a beta of 0.89.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $203.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 126.32%.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.