Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,968 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.98% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $340,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.55.

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

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $134.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.23. The firm has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.35 and a fifty-two week high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.