Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $232,000 Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,629 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $522,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 430,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 23,599 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Marten Transport during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,327 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $12.18 on Wednesday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $11.57 and a 12-month high of $18.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $992.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.42.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The company had revenue of $229.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.09 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

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.