Tectonic Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,533 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRTN. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,058,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,338,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $91,023,000 after purchasing an additional 132,407 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 78.0% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,323,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,673 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 13.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,881,000 after purchasing an additional 162,924 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Marten Transport by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,775,000 after buying an additional 41,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

MRTN opened at $15.78 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.39.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRTN. Raymond James downgraded shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Vertical Research cut shares of Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Marten Transport 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.