J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.23% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $39,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 worth $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 93,213 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $15,149,000. Finally, Scopia Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,630,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.60.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $149.00 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.69. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.00 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

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

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.