Millennium Management LLC Boosts Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 644.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,664 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 194,481 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Marten Transport worth $3,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,049 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Forest Hill Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Forest Hill Capital LLC now owns 140,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 75,716 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Marten Transport by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 55,160 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 14,182 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 256,559 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 61,938 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 495,769 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,739,000 after purchasing an additional 5,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of MRTN stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.14. The company had a trading volume of 363,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,307. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.72. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $12.52 and a 52-week high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 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.