Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Sold by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,869 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 43,116 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Marten Transport worth $3,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071,568 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $63,557,000 after buying an additional 23,201 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,902,000 after purchasing an additional 569,700 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,146,000 after purchasing an additional 175,059 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,492,142 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $23,292,000 after purchasing an additional 31,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,024,117 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 83,686 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Marten Transport Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,175,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 415,568. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.13 and a 200 day moving average of $14.23. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 1.00. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The company had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport's payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.