Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $5.37 Million Stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,043 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 85,591 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $5,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,160,000 after buying an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $539,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $223.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.51. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.79 and a twelve month high of $234.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.83.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The transportation company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Vertical Research lowered shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $176.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.76, for a total transaction of $1,977,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,359,343.36. This represents a 45.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald Greer Woodruff sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.57, for a total transaction of $74,663.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,019 shares in the company, valued at $906,565.83. This trade represents a 7.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,316 shares of company stock valued at $6,727,749 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.