Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484,812 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 149,501 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.51% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $94,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $363,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,883 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,087,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 104,338 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $20,277,000 after buying an additional 42,723 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,344,000. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,802 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $283.16 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.12 and a fifty-two week high of $293.54. The company has a market capitalization of $26.70 billion, a PE ratio of 43.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total transaction of $318,954.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,002,802. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total transaction of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.83.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.

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