Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,745,885 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 93.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,490 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,745,885 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $15,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the third quarter valued at $32,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 52.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Argus raised J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 3,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.97, for a total transaction of $613,584.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 90,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,241,526.46. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Boattini sold 2,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.00, for a total transaction of $519,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,862,800. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,945 shares of company stock valued at $5,656,495. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $215.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.83. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.79 and a 52-week high of $236.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.79. The firm has a market cap of $20.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.23.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.09. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 4.99%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.