Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Reduces Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,526,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 15,359 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 1.60% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $204,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,743 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,674,000 after purchasing an additional 27,662 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.5% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 32,154 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 1,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $287,937.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,933. The trade was a 25.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,842,826.35. This represents a 11.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495 over the last 90 days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $215.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $236.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.79.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research 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 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 29.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on JBHT. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark boosted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.00.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.