Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,220,327 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 230,970 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $208,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 428.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,263,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $215,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,295 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,618,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 956,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $163,237,000 after buying an additional 503,324 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,689,000 after buying an additional 134,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at $15,149,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JBHT. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark cut their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,881,282.74. This represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 1.2 %

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $149.72 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.34 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The stock has a market cap of $14.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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.