J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,480 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,912 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 365,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,353,000 after purchasing an additional 7,080 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 157,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,859,000 after purchasing an additional 48,795 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $130.75 per share, for a total transaction of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.9%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $139.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.22. 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 $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on JBHT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $196.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.00.

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.