Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 20,353 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596,512 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 20,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.60% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $88,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JBHT. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the first quarter worth about $906,000. Wharton Business Group LLC lifted its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Wharton Business Group LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,048,462 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,486,670,000 after purchasing an additional 195,873 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 3,328 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $944,000. 74.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JBHT traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.45. 544,605 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,064,553. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $200.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The business's fifty day moving average price is $145.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.90.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 4.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.97, for a total value of $150,298.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,763.62. This represents a 51.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Mcgee acquired 1,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $140.76 per share, for a total transaction of $161,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,201.72. The trade was a 18.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.