ING Groep NV Has $2.68 Million Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 83.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,986 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 100,125 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $2,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,094,000. Park Presidio Capital LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC now owns 670,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,337,000 after acquiring an additional 401,937 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 178.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 428,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,562,000 after purchasing an additional 275,017 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $592,015,000 after purchasing an additional 272,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Argus raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total value of $579,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,957.20. The trade was a 19.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 4,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.13, for a total value of $906,823.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,842,826.35. The trade was a 11.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,316 shares of company stock worth $6,727,749 in the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.4%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $221.76 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $234.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.65. The company has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 16.33%. 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 prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

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

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.