Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $253,000 Position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,481 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,578,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 28.2% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 15,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 190,689 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin Bracy sold 1,614 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.87, for a total value of $306,450.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,579.45. The trade was a 16.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total transaction of $26,494.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at $127,904. This trade represents a 17.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,859 shares of company stock worth $2,907,905. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $169.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $178.40 and its 200 day moving average is $174.46. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.12 and a twelve month high of $219.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The transportation company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio is 30.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JBHT. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $193.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $173.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $207.00 to $202.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.B. Hunt Transport Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.