Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,706 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Marten Transport worth $1,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in Marten Transport by 88.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 80.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 182,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,361,000 after acquiring an additional 81,219 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,775,000 after acquiring an additional 41,505 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 222,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,124,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRTN. StockNews.com cut shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $16.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.31. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $15.33 and a twelve month high of $21.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33 and a beta of 0.82.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.02). The business 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, research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.