New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,903 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $16,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter worth $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $195,580,000 after buying an additional 1,005,047 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,434,000 after buying an additional 635,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $145,245,000 after acquiring an additional 546,880 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $285.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $267.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.32. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $294.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Barclays increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.87.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total transaction of $1,017,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,696 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,045.04. This represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $225,252.70. The trade was a 47.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.