Prudential PLC Increases Stock Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 371.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 55,781 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Copart were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth $569,569,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Copart by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $860,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,610 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Copart by 298.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,660,031 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Copart by 2,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,133 shares during the period. Finally, Akre Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 253.1% during the 3rd quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036,760 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Price Performance

Copart stock opened at $30.96 on Monday. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.97 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.52. The company has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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.