Jennison Associates LLC Cuts Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,099 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 18,352 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.16% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $27,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 382.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBHT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $188.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $181.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.54 and a 200-day moving average of $168.73. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.12 and a 52 week high of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 31.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,550.50. The trade was a 35.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,275. This represents a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,314 shares of company stock worth $1,008,962. Corporate insiders own 2.10% 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.