Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,689 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Marten Transport worth $2,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 2.1% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,339,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,088 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $686,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $15.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.69 and its 200-day moving average is $17.22. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $15.33 and a 12-month high of $21.38.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. Equities analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MRTN shares. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

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.