Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $16.65 Million Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 940,431 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 38,990 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.16% of Marten Transport worth $16,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRTN. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the second quarter valued at $28,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Marten Transport by 88.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 24.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marten Transport during the third quarter worth about $181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 156,444 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRTN shares. StockNews.com downgraded Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $16.93. 221,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,206. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52 week low of $15.33 and a 52 week high of $21.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $16.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.32.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

About Marten Transport

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.