Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 3,243 Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. $JBHT

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in J.B. Hunt Transport Services were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JBHT. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 57.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 418.6% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 223 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 38.6% in 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. 74.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other J.B. Hunt Transport Services news, EVP David Keefauver sold 1,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.29, for a total value of $300,592.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,109.50. The trade was a 74.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Kuhlow sold 3,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.76, for a total transaction of $579,726.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 13,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,353,957.20. This represents a 19.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,109 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,970 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBHT opened at $202.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $181.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.79 and a 12-month high of $204.43.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 4.75%.J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JBHT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $227.00 price objective on J.B. Hunt Transport Services in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.40.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company 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.