Raymond James & Associates Has $3.36 Million Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,165 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 81,219 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.22% of Marten Transport worth $3,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Marten Transport by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 33,130 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 780,794 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,381,000 after acquiring an additional 27,507 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,135,410 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $23,821,000 after acquiring an additional 97,260 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Marten Transport by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 39,670 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,839,975 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $122,524,000 after acquiring an additional 27,091 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Up 0.3 %

MRTN stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 249,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,038. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.85. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12 month low of $15.33 and a 12 month high of $21.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.77.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 4.17%. The business had revenue of $246.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport's payout ratio is 33.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Vertical Research lowered shares of Marten Transport from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marten Transport news, COO Adam Daniel Phillips sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $82,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,596.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.