Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,200 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the second quarter worth about $28,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 88.8% in 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. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the third quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRTN has been the topic of several research reports. Vertical Research lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marten Transport Trading Up 3.5 %

Marten Transport stock opened at $16.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 0.79. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.38.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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.