American Century Companies Inc. Has $23.62 Million Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 138,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 13,475 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $23,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 41,617 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth $2,680,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $163,237,000 after purchasing an additional 503,324 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James reduced their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.34 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $162.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.