Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 4,086 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.9%, owning 457,555 shares worth approximately $67.7 million after selling 4,086 shares.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in J.B. Hunt during the 1st quarter, with notable boosts including Allworth Financial LP increasing its stake by 167% and NBC Securities Inc. by an astounding 112,900%.
• J.B. Hunt recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, which amounts to a yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 32%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 457,555 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 4,086 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.46% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $67,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 78.6% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 3,328 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 1st quarter valued at $944,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter valued at $583,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,411 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 114,118 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $16,884,000 after acquiring an additional 71,175 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $143.51. The stock had a trading volume of 823,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,424. The company has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $200.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $145.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total transaction of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,763.62. The trade was a 51.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.