Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $6.03 Million Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,332 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,030,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of JBHT. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14,254.9% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 185,896 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,035,000 after purchasing an additional 184,601 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,689,000 after buying an additional 134,476 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,149,000. Scopia Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,630,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 37.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 236,177 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,698,000 after acquiring an additional 64,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.80.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of JBHT opened at $152.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.34 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total value of $194,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.