The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,275 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,997 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,831,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $107,585,000 after purchasing an additional 14,660 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,338,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $91,023,000 after buying an additional 132,407 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,323,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,673 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,881,000 after acquiring an additional 162,924 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 6.4% during 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 period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marten Transport news, COO Adam Daniel Phillips sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $82,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,596.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock opened at $16.73 on Wednesday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $15.33 and a fifty-two week high of $21.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.49.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $246.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.11 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The business’s revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.46 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRTN. StockNews.com downgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Vertical Research lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marten Transport currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.