J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,352 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 4,096 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.07% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $12,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 32,899 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,659,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 112,116 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $19,134,000 after purchasing an additional 60,926 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 216,829 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,004,000 after buying an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,115 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 192,712 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,888,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.71. 1,116,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 951,636. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $172.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.78. 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 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $214.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.