Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,407 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.25% of Marten Transport worth $2,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,384,000 after buying an additional 8,040 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,179 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 641,833 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,019,000 after buying an additional 44,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of MRTN opened at $13.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.50. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. The company had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. The trade was a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.