Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,024,117 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 83,686 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $15,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 54.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 5.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings 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 worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 2.1% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN stock opened at $13.66 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $13.52 and a 1 year high of $19.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.18 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.12.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens upped their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company 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.