Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,488 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,050 shares during the period. J.B. Hunt Transport Services comprises about 2.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $31,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after acquiring an additional 22,563 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $129,765,000 after buying an additional 93,213 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 641,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,524,000 after buying an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after buying an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of JBHT opened at $169.98 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.12 and a 52-week high of $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.71. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 30.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.11.

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.