Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 113,039 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 19,408 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Marten Transport worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,839,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,524,000 after buying an additional 27,091 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,338,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $91,023,000 after purchasing an additional 132,407 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,406,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,506,000 after purchasing an additional 451,340 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the first quarter worth approximately $24,122,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,135,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,821,000 after purchasing an additional 97,260 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Vertical Research downgraded Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Marten Transport in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marten Transport presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other news, President Douglas Paul Petit sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.22, for a total transaction of $81,990.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 31,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,752. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $17.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.77. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.63.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 4.17%. The company had revenue of $246.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 33.80%.

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.