28,900 Shares in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 28,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $606,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 36.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 26.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $16.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.88. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a one year low of $15.33 and a one year high of $23.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 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 business had revenue of $249.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRTN shares. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

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.