Nuance Investments LLC Purchases 569,700 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 569,700 shares during the quarter. Marten Transport comprises 2.0% of Nuance Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 3.92% of Marten Transport worth $49,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 24,006 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 5.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,760 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,447 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.68. The stock had a trading volume of 336,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,240. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.76 and a 200-day moving average of $15.97. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a one year low of $13.45 and a one year high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Marten Transport's payout ratio is 70.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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.