JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 189,996 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 875,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,996 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.07% of Marten Transport worth $13,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Marten Transport by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 24,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,760 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens raised their target price 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 Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.65. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

Marten Transport Company 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.