Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,541 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,613 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 303.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 657 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $275,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $530,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,274 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT stock opened at $259.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $229.56 and a 200-day moving average of $210.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $264.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.28.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,973,462.52. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,862,800. This trade represents a 11.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,154 shares of company stock worth $4,112,450. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JBHT. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.