J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,813,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,957 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $362,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth about $1,463,000. Balentine LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 3,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,299,000. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 22,210.0% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 11,155 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 11,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 952,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,177. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $180.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.76. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.70 and a 1 year high of $219.51. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 5.25%. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JBHT shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $199.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,382,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,021,243.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO John N. Roberts acquired 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $161.06 per share, with a total value of $998,572.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,565,592.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Alfred C. Harper sold 6,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,382,615.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,021,243.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,454 shares of company stock worth $3,283,219 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.