Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 71.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,559 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at $181,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at $216,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 price 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. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN opened at $16.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.41 and a 200-day moving average of $16.92. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $14.96 and a 52-week high of $20.96. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

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.