Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $4.28 Million Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,036 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,278,000.

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

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.10.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $129.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.35 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.39.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.15 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS 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 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.