Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 222,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $15.50 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.18. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $15.33 and a twelve month high of $21.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90 and a beta of 0.82.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results 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). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.00 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Marten Transport 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.