Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,104 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,104 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 500.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 199 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,510,362.81. This trade represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares in the company, valued at $225,252.70. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.2%

JBHT stock opened at $274.19 on Wednesday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76. The firm has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $279.32 and its 200-day moving average is $249.98. 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 (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $3.50 billion during 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%.J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.