American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 25,816 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 234,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 25,816 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.25% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $31,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $213.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.81. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $236.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. Citigroup downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $221.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total value of $1,977,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,329 shares of company stock worth $6,107,619 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.