Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,712 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $32,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 237 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT traded up $4.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.98. 860,355 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,492. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.72. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is 30.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on JBHT. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.11.

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.