Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases New Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,117 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth about $1,833,602,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,122,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $592,015,000 after buying an additional 272,594 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $843,937,000 after acquiring an additional 41,887 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,755,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 565,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 5.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,612,262 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $216,317,000 after acquiring an additional 82,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $274.47 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.12 and a 12-month high of $299.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $278.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.96. The firm has a market cap of $25.78 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on JBHT shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.30.

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

In related news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

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.