Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires 150,000 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. has increased its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. by 100%, owning 300,000 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million as of the most recent quarter.
• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating as of May 22nd.
• Marten Transport announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.85% and a payout ratio of 92.31%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 100.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Marten Transport worth $4,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,135,484 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,739,000 after purchasing an additional 63,916 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,146,000 after acquiring an additional 175,059 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 933,776 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $14,576,000 after acquiring an additional 40,237 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,663,000 after buying an additional 189,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Marten Transport by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 495,769 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,739,000 after buying an additional 5,310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Marten Transport stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 758,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,405. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.16 and a 200 day moving average of $13.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.27 and a beta of 0.99. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $12.52 and a 1-year high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The firm had revenue of $229.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.09 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 2.72%. Marten Transport's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is 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.