Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 18,127 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 18,127 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $22,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 123.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,486 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 8,017 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 99,621 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $17,170,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 205,413 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,399,000 after buying an additional 28,296 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 13.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 108,590 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,713,000 after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $257,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.05.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction 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. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $146.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $162.28 and its 200 day moving average is $172.11. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.34 and a 1 year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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.