J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Purchased by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,531 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 15,212 shares during the quarter. J.B. Hunt Transport Services comprises 1.2% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.13% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $22,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,618,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised 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 valued at $163,237,000 after acquiring an additional 503,324 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,689,000 after purchasing an additional 134,476 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at $15,149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $150.80 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.34 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

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). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

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.