J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd trimmed its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,681,374 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 206,769 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 1.67% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $286,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of JBHT stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 938,905. The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.05 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $154.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $167.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.70.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.