Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 324,178 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $132,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Eldred Rock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 88,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after purchasing an additional 9,345 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $433,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,003,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total value of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,650 shares in the company, valued at $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $906,565.83. This represents a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on JBHT shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.91.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $227.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.79 and a fifty-two week high of $236.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.70.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.