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

Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 64.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,268 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,384.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 156,097 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,297,000 after purchasing an additional 149,815 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 134,476 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 282.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 173,637 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $27,740,000 after buying an additional 128,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $129,765,000 after buying an additional 93,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on JBHT. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.11.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,275. The trade was a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,859 shares of company stock valued at $2,907,905. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $4.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $170.61. 942,729 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,055,751. The company has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $219.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.93 and a 200 day moving average of $174.27.

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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.