Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Position Boosted by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 31.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,559 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,938 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Marten Transport worth $4,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 495,769 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,739,000 after purchasing an additional 5,310 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Marten Transport by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 244,808 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,821,000 after buying an additional 10,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 933,776 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $14,576,000 after buying an additional 40,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 176,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. This trade represents a 12.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRTN traded down $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $13.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 280,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,661. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.44 and a beta of 1.04. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRTN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

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.