Geneva Capital Management LLC Sells 25,700 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Geneva Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,290,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 25,700 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $60,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 16,727 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Stephens decreased their target price on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Marten Transport Stock Up 2.7 %

MRTN stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $17.14. 522,739 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,412. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51 and a beta of 0.77. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $23.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.45.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. The business had revenue of $249.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.77 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 5.31%. The business’s revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In related news, President Douglas Paul Petit sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.22, for a total transaction of $81,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 31,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,752. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.