J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at about $1,578,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 worth $566,944,000 after buying an additional 19,826 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145,850.0% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 2,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 2,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT opened at $146.12 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $162.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.08. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.34 and a 52-week high of $200.40. The firm has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.