Primecap Management Co. CA Invests $149.84 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 517,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,841,000. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.55% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summitry LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.9% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,765 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.5% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $225,252.70. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $262.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.92. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.50%.

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.