Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.18 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, buying 6,092 shares valued at about $1.18 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings, and hedge funds plus other institutions now own 74.95% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: J.B. Hunt has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with multiple firms recently lifting price targets as high as $290.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,092 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JBHT. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 798 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JBHT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Benchmark boosted their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.17.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

Shares of JBHT stock opened at $271.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.02. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.12 and a twelve month high of $293.54.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.86%.

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

In related news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total value of $200,446.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $225,252.70. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,119 shares of company stock valued at $4,736,095. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services 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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