Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 324,178 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services cut its stake in J.B. Hunt by 32.2%, selling 324,178 shares and ending the quarter with 683,651 shares (~0.72% ownership) valued at $132.86 million.
• Analysts have become more bullish—multiple firms raised price targets (e.g., Baird to $215, JPMorgan to $211) and the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $205.91 consensus price target.
• J.B. Hunt beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.90 vs. $1.81), reported slightly lower year-over-year revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 (annualized $1.80, ~0.8% yield).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 683,651 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 324,178 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.72% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $132,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $258,000. Legacy Trust bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $585,000. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $2,887,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.91.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock opened at $227.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $236.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $217.80 and its 200 day moving average is $192.70. The firm has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

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

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CFO Albert Brad Delco sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.25, for a total transaction of $227,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,886.75. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total transaction of $225,680.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,046,668.08. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,945 shares of company stock worth $5,656,495 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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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