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

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,797 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,670 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $3,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eldred Rock Partners LLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.9% in the third quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 88,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after acquiring an additional 9,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 777.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,785,000 after purchasing an additional 170,264 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,356 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 208,655 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,963,000 after purchasing an additional 40,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 113,935 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,390,000 after buying an additional 3,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Webb sold 796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.11, for a total value of $150,531.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,968,459.67. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $613,584.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 90,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,241,526.46. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,315,491. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.1%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $205.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $212.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 28.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on JBHT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Susquehanna raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Benchmark upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.