GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 323,985 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 31,747 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.40% of Marten Transport worth $5,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,130,000 after purchasing an additional 126,150 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,732,000 after buying an additional 185,700 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 140.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 79,689 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 120.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 138,508 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 75,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,431 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,646,000 after purchasing an additional 38,990 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MRTN traded up $0.04 on Monday, reaching $14.89. 227,331 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,154. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.74. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $14.78 and a 52-week high of $20.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. Analysts forecast 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, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.59%.

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.