Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 41,887 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 1.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,982,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,887 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $843,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,715,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 62.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 769,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $163,047,000 after purchasing an additional 295,687 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 100,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,399,000 after purchasing an additional 17,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 119,303 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,280,000 after buying an additional 14,965 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.20, for a total value of $516,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,752.80. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,847 shares of company stock valued at $4,162,861. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $276.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $279.82 and its 200-day moving average is $243.40. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Argus set a $285.00 price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

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.