KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 54.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $60,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 88.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 24.3% during 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 last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % 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. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $16.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26 and a beta of 0.79. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $15.33 and a 52-week high of $21.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.38.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note 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.