Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 35,332 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $6,030,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $215,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,295 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $146,618,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $163,237,000 after acquiring an additional 503,324 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,689,000 after acquiring an additional 134,476 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,124,425 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $362,554,000 after purchasing an additional 104,019 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $3.25 on Friday, reaching $129.73. 1,960,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 949,467. The company's 50 day moving average is $146.71 and its 200-day moving average is $166.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is 31.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.20.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.