Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $22.99 Million Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,127 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $22,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during 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 last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,035,000 after buying an additional 184,601 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,689,000 after buying an additional 134,476 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter worth $15,149,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 236,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,698,000 after acquiring an additional 64,380 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on JBHT. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on 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. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna cut shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.05.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $146.12 on Monday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.34 and a 1 year high of $200.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $162.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

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

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.