Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,135,484 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 63,916 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 5.08% of Marten Transport worth $56,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $100,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $157,000. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth $173,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 176,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,598.72. This trade represents a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.75. 592,310 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,282. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.26 and a 200 day moving average of $13.96. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.99.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. The firm had revenue of $229.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.09 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.31%.

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.