Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 169,057 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 432,775 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 169,057 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.53% of Marten Transport worth $6,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,902,000 after acquiring an additional 569,700 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 3,788.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 256,651 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 644.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,507,000 after purchasing an additional 194,481 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,663,000 after purchasing an additional 189,996 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,732,000 after buying an additional 185,700 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $13.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,368. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.26 and its 200-day moving average is $14.79. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $12.52 and a fifty-two week high of $19.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 1.04.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. On average, research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.84%. Marten Transport's payout ratio is 88.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of Marten Transport 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.