TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Acquires 97,260 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,135,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,260 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $23,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,907,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Marten Transport by 26.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 452,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,920,000 after acquiring an additional 93,417 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,613,000 after acquiring an additional 91,508 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,141,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at $662,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRTN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Vertical Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th.

Marten Transport Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.62. The company had a trading volume of 255,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,438. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12 month low of $15.33 and a 12 month high of $23.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.77.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 5.31%. The business had revenue of $249.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

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.