New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,565 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 88.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marten Transport by 24.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter valued at $263,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of MRTN opened at $18.03 on Monday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $21.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 42.93 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRTN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report 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.