Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 26,652 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,195,918 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 26,652 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.15% of Marten Transport worth $65,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,447 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the fourth quarter valued at $430,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth about $181,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Marten Transport by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,146,000 after purchasing an additional 175,059 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.70. 78,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,733. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.34 and a beta of 1.01. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $11.72 and a 1-year high of $19.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $14.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.59.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

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.