WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 10,995 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $181,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 4.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,646,000 after purchasing an additional 38,990 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Marten Transport by 5.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 11,883 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 120.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 138,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 75,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $13.68 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $13.45 and a twelve month high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.98.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. On average, analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens increased their target price on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.