Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 52.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,519 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,265 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 798 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 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 Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $287.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $293.54.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.87.

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.