J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $15,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 67.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 451 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17,134.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 288.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,883,000 after buying an additional 64,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT opened at $167.71 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $172.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $214.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock worth $1,898,942 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.