USS Investment Management Ltd Has $3.47 Million Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,345 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 10,971 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 69,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $11,810,000 after buying an additional 25,034 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $345,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on JBHT shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.20. 322,724 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 985,334. The company's 50-day moving average is $138.13 and its 200-day moving average is $160.51. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $200.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. Analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.94%.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.