J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Shares Purchased by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 37.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,769,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,946,628,000 after acquiring an additional 25,109 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,168,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $433,186,000 after purchasing an additional 62,313 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7,720.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 983,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $196,485,000 after purchasing an additional 971,124 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter worth about $185,299,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 887,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,336,000 after purchasing an additional 120,202 shares during the period. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $181.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.03, for a total value of $525,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,476,674.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Persio V. Lisboa bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $163.47 per share, for a total transaction of $98,082.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,594 shares in the company, valued at $587,511.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $173.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.14. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.12 and a 1 year high of $219.51.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 4.90%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is presently 27.30%.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile

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.