Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Sells 7,359 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR cut its J.B. Hunt stake by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,359 shares and ending with 7,593 shares valued at about $1.48 million.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including Director James K. Thompson and SVP Jennifer Boattini, with insiders selling a combined 4,510 shares worth about $1.09 million over the last three months.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.49 on revenue of $3.06 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $227.04.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lowered its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,593 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 7,359 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,508 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 41.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 225 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.0% in the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

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

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,462.52. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 4,510 shares of company stock worth $1,092,450 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.04.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $245.40 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $256.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

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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