New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 68,191 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Key Points

• The New York State Common Retirement Fund sold 68,191 shares of Marten Transport, reducing its holdings by 77.6%, leaving it with 19,689 shares worth approximately $270,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Marten Transport, with new positions amounting to over $500,000 in total from multiple firms.
• Marten Transport's shares were downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" by Wall Street Zen, indicating analyst concerns about the company's performance.

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 77.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,689 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 68,191 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Marten Transport were worth $270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRTN. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Marten Transport stock opened at $13.00 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $12.52 and a 1-year high of $19.26. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.00 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.87.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.88 per share, with a total value of $257,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 176,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,598.72. The trade was a 12.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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