Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 96.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,803 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 214,037 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $215,610,000 after buying an additional 1,024,295 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,618,000. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16,964.6% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 610,059 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $104,113,000 after buying an additional 606,484 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $163,237,000 after buying an additional 503,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,408.1% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 213,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,502,000 after buying an additional 205,360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on JBHT. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.90.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $139.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.68.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

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.