Private Trust Co. NA Purchases 74 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 57.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,853,092 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $718,015,000 after purchasing an additional 616,986 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after acquiring an additional 195,873 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 11.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,408,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $208,322,000 after acquiring an additional 144,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 118.4% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 162,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,042,000 after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $157.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $164.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $172.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $165.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.17. The company has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.79 and a 1-year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.50%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Eric Mcgee bought 1,148 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.76 per share, with a total value of $161,592.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,201.72. This represents a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.