Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,927 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,134 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.22% of Marten Transport worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Marten Transport by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071,568 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,557,000 after purchasing an additional 23,201 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 569,700 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,339,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,412,000 after buying an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,146,000 after acquiring an additional 175,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.31. 31,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,494. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.61. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $12.52 and a 1 year high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. On average, analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens increased their target price on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Company 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.