Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 36,584 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,584 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.24% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $40,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after purchasing an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,997,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $340,049,000 after acquiring an additional 8,968 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $215,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,295 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $163,237,000 after acquiring an additional 503,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth about $146,618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $132.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.62 and a 200-day moving average of $170.96. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $127.35 and a one year high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.65%.

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

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.55.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.