Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 171 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 236 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $40,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JBHT shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total value of $1,100,820.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $158.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.70. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.12 and a one year high of $208.69. The stock has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

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.