Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 1,084 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $8,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $152.78 on Thursday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.34 and a 52 week high of $200.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 1.15%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JBHT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.55.

Insider Activity

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. The trade was a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 23,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.