Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 183,349 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Marten Transport stake by 49.1% in the first quarter, purchasing 183,349 shares to own 557,096 shares worth approximately $7.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.12% of MRTN.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $16, although Stephens lowered its target to $16 and kept an “equal weight” rating.
• Marten Transport recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.07 EPS and $223.54 million in revenue, while year-over-year revenue declined 2.8%. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, equating to a 1.7% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 557,096 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 183,349 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.68% of Marten Transport worth $7,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 6,267,340 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,322,000 after purchasing an additional 144,925 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,893,498 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,250,000 after acquiring an additional 37,761 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,241,782 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,217,000 after acquiring an additional 32,843 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,442,309 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $27,793,000 after acquiring an additional 16,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,232,442 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $14,025,000 after acquiring an additional 119,001 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRTN shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.00.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN opened at $14.49 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.24 and a beta of 0.95. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $9.35 and a fifty-two week high of $18.48.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $223.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.10 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.47% and a return on equity of 1.65%. Marten Transport's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.18%.

Marten Transport Company Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.

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