KBC Group NV Sells 1,697 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,705 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 22.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 656 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $151.88 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.79 and a 12 month high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $140.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.02. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 4.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.94%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs acquired 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $130.75 per share, with a total value of $199,916.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,995.25. This represents a 1.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $148.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Stephens decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.43.

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.