BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 12,846 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,590 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.11% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $18,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 388 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,599 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.11. The stock had a trading volume of 457,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,120. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.14. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 31.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at $786,550.50. This trade represents a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,962 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.