Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $326,000 Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,632 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,744,668 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,946,400,000 after buying an additional 80,123 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,168,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $433,186,000 after purchasing an additional 62,313 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 184.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,154,757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $406,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,651 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7,720.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 983,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $196,485,000 after purchasing an additional 971,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $185,299,000. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, CEO John N. Roberts bought 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $161.06 per share, with a total value of $998,572.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,565,592.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $156.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $163.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $219.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.31). J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.25% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $218.00 to $199.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $215.00 to $199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.76.

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.