Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 962,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the period. Copart accounts for 1.5% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $43,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,408,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,221,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144,946 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Copart by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,406,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,786,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,265 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,462,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $999,305,000 after buying an additional 656,333 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter worth $549,448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 7.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,160,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $498,566,000 after buying an additional 670,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CPRT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total transaction of $3,907,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Copart Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $41.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.81. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.41 and a 52 week high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Copart had a net margin of 34.24% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Copart’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copart Company Profile

Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart’s business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.