North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $521,000 in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,681 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $521,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 125,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,627,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $433,000. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,003,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 145.6% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 12,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $259.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $229.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.12 and a 1 year high of $264.98.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total value of $318,954.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,002,802. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total value of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,462.52. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,154 shares of company stock worth $4,112,450 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.

In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.