Trillium Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Trillium Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 166,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,515 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $28,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,680,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $163,237,000 after purchasing an additional 503,324 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 12,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.80.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $147.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.34. The company has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.32 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. 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. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

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

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Company insiders own 2.10% 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.