Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,461 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of JBHT opened at $146.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.34 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.09.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna lowered J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued 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 $184.05.

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.