Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,750,545 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 70,810 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 7.06% of Marten Transport worth $89,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,130,000 after buying an additional 126,150 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 185,700 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Marten Transport by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 79,689 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Marten Transport by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 214,022 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,179 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.08. The company had a trading volume of 373,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,373. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $13.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47 and a beta of 1.01. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. The business had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 20,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,272,598.72. This trade represents a 12.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.