Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 75,692 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. by 7.4%, owning 1,099,809 shares worth approximately $15.1 million as of the most recent SEC filing.
• Marten Transport reported a quarterly EPS of $0.09, meeting analysts' expectations, but its revenue declined 6.6% year-over-year, totaling $229.92 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06, representing an annual yield of 1.9%, with a payout ratio of 92.31% scheduled for distribution on September 30th.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,099,809 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,692 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Marten Transport worth $15,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRTN. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 644.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,507,000 after buying an additional 194,481 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 432,775 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,756,000 after acquiring an additional 169,057 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 100.0% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 300,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,116,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the first quarter valued at $1,803,000. Finally, Forest Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Forest Hill Capital LLC now owns 140,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,185,000 after buying an additional 75,716 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.84. 406,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 614,822. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.65 and a 200-day moving average of $13.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.20 million, a PE ratio of 45.54 and a beta of 0.98. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $11.57 and a 1 year high of $18.63.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09. The business had revenue of $229.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.09 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%.Marten Transport's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

About Marten Transport

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.