Stifel Financial Corp Sells 1,422 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,557 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,422 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 222,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 54.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MRTN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $15.60 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $21.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.66 and its 200 day moving average is $17.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 0.82.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. Research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. This represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.