Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Purchases Shares of 107,100 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Adams Diversified Equity Fund bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter, acquiring 107,100 shares worth about $22.7 million.
• Institutional ownership in JBHT remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 74.95% of the stock. Several large investors also increased their positions significantly in recent quarters.
• J.B. Hunt reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.49 beating estimates and revenue rising 4.6% year over year. Analysts remain moderately bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $239.87.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 107,100 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $22,694,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. owned 0.11% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 411.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,799,843 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $258,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,993 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the fourth quarter valued at $200,587,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 75,567.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,006,377 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $195,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,047 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 338.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 823,089 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $110,434,000 after acquiring an additional 635,172 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,377 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $145,245,000 after acquiring an additional 546,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In related news, EVP Darren P. Field sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.49, for a total value of $1,017,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,045.04. The trade was a 31.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.75, for a total transaction of $318,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 91,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,119 shares of company stock worth $4,736,095. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus set a $285.00 target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.87.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of JBHT opened at $280.30 on Friday. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.12 and a 52-week high of $293.54. The company has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is 27.86%.

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.

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