LPL Financial LLC Buys 25,034 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,034 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $11,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.67, for a total transaction of $194,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,282.74. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total value of $771,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,131,541.83. The trade was a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $152.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.70. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.34 and a 1 year high of $200.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 4.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on JBHT shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reduced their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.55.

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.