Independence Bank of Kentucky Takes $40,000 Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,536 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the third quarter worth about $181,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRTN shares. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Marten Transport stock opened at $15.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.29 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.83. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $14.96 and a 52-week high of $20.24.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

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.