J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,092 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 8,633 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $15,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 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. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.19. 657,519 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,857. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $171.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.77. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $208.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 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 company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.