Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 38,990 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 940,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,990 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $16,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,831,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,585,000 after purchasing an additional 14,660 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,231,604 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,199,000 after buying an additional 15,388 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,627,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,500,000 after buying an additional 303,132 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Marten Transport by 13.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,881,000 after buying an additional 162,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Marten Transport by 6.4% during 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 buying an additional 41,505 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRTN shares. StockNews.com downgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James downgraded Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $16.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.82. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.38.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The company 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, analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.