Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,573 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JBHT. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 451 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 18,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17,134.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $74,840,000 after buying an additional 43,179 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 288.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 86,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,883,000 after buying an additional 64,103 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $167.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.12 and a 12 month high of $214.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.78. The company has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 31.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Shelley Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.47, for a total transaction of $1,100,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,092,976.08. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reissued 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.11.

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.