BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,385 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,795 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.16% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $26,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 324,639 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,403,000 after acquiring an additional 42,095 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JBHT. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $193.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered 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. reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.20.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $148.38. The stock had a trading volume of 320,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,207. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $140.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.94%.

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

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs bought 1,529 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,995.25. The trade was a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.