JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 22.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 685,308 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 126,150 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.84% of Marten Transport worth $12,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRTN. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 222,269 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,101,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 54.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 24.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Marten Transport in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 10.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of MRTN remained flat at $15.26 during mid-day trading on Friday. 1,021,274 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 454,146. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $14.96 and a twelve month high of $20.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.03.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.02). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRTN. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 10,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.