Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $32,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,722.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 545,042 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,600,000 after purchasing an additional 525,729 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $152,589,000 after buying an additional 193,684 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 282.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 173,637 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,740,000 after acquiring an additional 128,283 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $19,755,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth $16,887,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total transaction of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,275. This represents a 10.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,314 shares of company stock worth $1,534,052. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $182.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. 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 fifty day moving average of $175.60 and a 200-day moving average of $168.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.14.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JBHT. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

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.