J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,537 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.11% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $21,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,160,000 after purchasing an additional 13,729 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% in the first 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 purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on JBHT. Bank of America increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna set a $345.00 price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $248.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Down 0.7%

JBHT stock opened at $272.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.68. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.12 and a 1 year high of $299.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.50%.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,604 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,752.80. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley W. Hicks sold 7,644 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.91, for a total transaction of $2,002,040.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,281,125.62. The trade was a 24.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,847 shares of company stock valued at $4,162,861. Insiders own 2.50% 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.