Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 16,106 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 296,843 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 16,106 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.31% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $39,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $91,094,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 18.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,672,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $358,510,000 after buying an additional 416,167 shares during the last quarter. Park Presidio Capital LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $96,337,000 after buying an additional 401,937 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 275,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Kuhlow sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.68, for a total transaction of $225,680.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 17,931 shares in the company, valued at $4,046,668.08. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $906,565.83. The trade was a 7.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on JBHT shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $228.22 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.79 and a 52 week high of $234.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 29.32%.

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.