Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 3,910 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 190,689 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $32,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the first quarter worth $242,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,946,628,000 after acquiring an additional 25,109 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 43.3% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,263 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $182.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.60 and a 200 day moving average of $168.27. The company has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.14. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.12 and a 12-month high of $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is presently 31.27%.

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

In related news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,579.45. This trade represents a 16.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % 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 valued at $1,534,052 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.