Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,651,474 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 336,529 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Copart worth $209,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Copart in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Copart by 1,063.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CPRT shares. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.40.

Copart Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $38.09 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.81 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85. The company has a market cap of $36.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.20.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

About Copart

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.