Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,607 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 272,832 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,607 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of Marten Transport worth $4,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 28,533 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Marten Transport stock opened at $16.59 on Thursday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.02). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

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.