Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 5,050 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,488 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 5,050 shares during the quarter. J.B. Hunt Transport Services makes up 2.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned about 0.18% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $31,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of JBHT stock traded down $4.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $169.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,131,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $172.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.78. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $214.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. This represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on JBHT. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.