Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its J.B. Hunt stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, but still held about 2.02 million shares valued at roughly $391.9 million.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.49 EPS versus the $1.45 estimate and revenue of $3.06 billion, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $228.17, though several insiders have recently sold shares.

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,024,240 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 19,736 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.13% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $391,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 199 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JBHT shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value 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 trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,002,802. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,916 shares of company stock valued at $4,109,634 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $276.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $237.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.39. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.12 and a 52-week high of $277.85. The company has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a PE ratio of 42.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.86%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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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