Independent Director of Marten Transport Picks Up 13% More Stock

Potential Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, Jerry Bauer, recently bought US$258k worth of stock, paying US$12.88 for each share. That's a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 13%.

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Marten Transport Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Jerry Bauer was the biggest purchase of Marten Transport shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$12.84 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Jerry Bauer.

Jerry Bauer bought 30.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$13.86. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Check out our latest analysis for Marten Transport

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Marten Transport Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Marten Transport insiders own 29% of the company, currently worth about US$307m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Marten Transport Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Marten Transport insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. One for the watchlist, at least! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Marten Transport (1 can't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.