Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 578.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 198,162 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Copart were worth $9,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Copart by 125.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Copart by 54.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Up 4.1%

CPRT stock opened at $34.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.23. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.20 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.02.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CPRT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays reiterated 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Copart 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.