Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Director Purchases $158,100.00 in Stock

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $15.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 0.77. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $15.33 and a fifty-two week high of $21.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.35.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 1st quarter valued at $24,122,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the second quarter worth about $5,334,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 13.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,881,000 after buying an additional 162,924 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,338,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $91,023,000 after buying an additional 132,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,124,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Vertical Research cut Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

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.