Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 63,916 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 176,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. This trade represents a 12.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $12.96. 651,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,513. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $12.52 and a 12-month high of $19.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.85 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $13.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.95.

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

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 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 92.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut 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.