Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 419.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 981 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,374,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $581,567,000 after acquiring an additional 22,563 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,289,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $566,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,826 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.1% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 753,005 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,765,000 after acquiring an additional 93,213 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 641,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,524,000 after acquiring an additional 8,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $95,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

JBHT opened at $167.71 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.42 and a 200-day moving average of $174.78. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.15. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.12 and a 1-year high of $214.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $195.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $211.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, J.B. Hunt Transport Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric Mcgee sold 145 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.72, for a total value of $26,494.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,904. The trade was a 17.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 4,400 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.37, for a total transaction 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 $4,131,541.83. This trade represents a 15.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,545 shares of company stock valued at $1,898,942. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.