Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $87.33 Million Stock Holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its J.B. Hunt Transport Services stake by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, owning 449,370 shares valued at about $87.33 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on JBHT remains constructive, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target price of $228.17.
• J.B. Hunt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.49 and revenue of $3.06 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,370 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.47% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services worth $87,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JBHT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,643 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 433,661 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,160,000 after buying an additional 13,729 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 27.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth $539,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 21.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 583 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nicholas Hobbs sold 1,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 91,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,002,802. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James K. Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.28, for a total transaction of $254,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,973,462.52. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,510 shares of company stock worth $2,110,410 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $262.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $226.22 and a 200 day moving average of $207.40. The stock has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.12 and a 12 month high of $263.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's payout ratio is currently 27.86%.

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.

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