Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $56.88 Million Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,073 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. J.B. Hunt Transport Services comprises 2.0% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned 0.33% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $56,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $295,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth about $293,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 12.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 16,423 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 453,180 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $78,096,000 after purchasing an additional 7,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $179.45. 203,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 867,022. 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 market cap of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $176.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.55.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total transaction of $525,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,476,674.50. This trade represents a 17.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total transaction of $306,450.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,579.45. This trade represents a 16.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,314 shares of company stock worth $1,534,052 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% 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.