Capital World Investors Grows Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Copart were worth $1,085,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Copart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CPRT shares. Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Copart presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $30.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.01. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.97 and a 52-week high of $50.92.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current 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.