Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 131,425 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,803,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.16% of Marten Transport at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Marten Transport by 10.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 2.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,024,117 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,986,000 after acquiring an additional 83,686 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 933,776 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $14,576,000 after acquiring an additional 40,237 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Trading Down 1.5%

MRTN stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.70. 491,719 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,160. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.07. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a one year low of $12.52 and a one year high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.74 and a beta of 0.99.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.79 million. As a group, analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors 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 1.75%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.