Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 4,894 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $11,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 67.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 451 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17,134.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $74,840,000 after purchasing an additional 43,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 288.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,883,000 after purchasing an additional 64,103 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $167.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $214.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.86.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share 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 $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. 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 (DPR) is 31.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on JBHT. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.