Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,117 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $286.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT opened at $274.47 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.12 and a 52-week high of $299.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 18.75% and a net margin of 5.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total transaction 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 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company 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.