Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 41,765 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.75% of the company, valued at $110.7 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, increased their stakes in J.B. Hunt, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• J.B. Hunt recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.76 and a yield of 1.2%.

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 748,273 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 41,765 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.75% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $110,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. State of Wyoming grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,130 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.2% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 28,358 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,715 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 197,887 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,277,000 after purchasing an additional 40,502 shares during the last quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 196.9% during the 1st quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 123,246 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,240,000 after purchasing an additional 81,733 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.4% in the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 8,259 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 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 news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee acquired 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $166.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $144.22. The company had a trading volume of 746,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,052. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.93. The firm has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

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.