The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $42.94 Million in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 148,366 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,942,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.16% of J.B. Hunt Transport Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $539,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,833,602,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2.4% in 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 buying an additional 10,664 shares during 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 period. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. lifted its position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 201,839 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,225,000 after acquiring an additional 8,270 shares during the last quarter. 74.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $299.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

Insider Transactions at J.B. Hunt Transport Services

In other news, EVP Brian Webb sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.01, for a total value of $426,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,510,362.81. The trade was a 8.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Keefauver sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.13, for a total transaction of $200,446.39. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,252.70. This trade represents a 47.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Price Performance

J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock opened at $263.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $277.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.19. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a one year low of $130.12 and a one year high of $299.76.

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

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

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

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.