Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 32,086 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $36,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JBHT. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 140.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $140.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $145.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.79 and a 1 year high of $200.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. Equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs purchased 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 91,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This 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 owned by corporate 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.