Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,090 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired 2,090 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, valued at approximately $300,000, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings, with significant boosts noted from Summit Securities Group LLC and Allworth Financial LP, underscoring a general trend of increased investment in J.B. Hunt.
• J.B. Hunt's stocks have been downgraded by UBS Group from "buy" to "neutral", reflecting changing market sentiments, while analysts continue to maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $160.00.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,090 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 19,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 306 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 330 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $163.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $171.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.00.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Trading Down 3.9%

NASDAQ JBHT opened at $137.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.11. 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.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.00%.

About J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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.

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