Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 45,790 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $7,815,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of JBHT traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $160.48. The stock had a trading volume of 271,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,424. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $204.43. The firm has a market cap of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.59.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business's revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is 31.65%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.