William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $546,000 in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $539,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 454,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,332,000 after acquiring an additional 10,664 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,684 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,833,602,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. lifted its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 201,839 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,225,000 after purchasing an additional 8,270 shares in the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $275.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.41. The stock has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.12 and a 1-year high of $299.76.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The transportation company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.20. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 18.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is currently 25.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JBHT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $261.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,510,362.81. This represents a 8.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.