J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Bought by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 112,116 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,134,000 after acquiring an additional 60,926 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 216,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,004,000 after acquiring an additional 25,492 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 192,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,888,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % 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 currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $174.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $173.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.82. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $214.39. The firm has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

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.