AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 54.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,991 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Marten Transport worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the first quarter worth $2,988,000. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Marten Transport in the 1st quarter worth about $2,058,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,338,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $91,023,000 after acquiring an additional 132,407 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,323,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 6.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,775,000 after acquiring an additional 41,505 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $16.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.52. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $15.33 and a twelve month high of $21.38.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $246.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.11 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRTN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In other news, COO Adam Daniel Phillips sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $82,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,596.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.