Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 97.9% during the first quarter, now owning about 0.05% of the company valued at approximately $27.9 million.
• Copart's CEO, Jeffrey Liaw, sold 24,088 shares of the company stock, reducing his position by 43.31% in a transaction worth over $1.1 million.
• Recent analyst ratings include JPMorgan lowering its price target for Copart from $60.00 to $55.00, while Stephens initiated coverage with an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 97.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,460 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 246,071 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.05% of Copart worth $27,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Copart by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,518 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Copart by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 442,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,399,000 after purchasing an additional 35,056 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,019,079 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,265,000 after purchasing an additional 39,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Copart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,751,965 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $157,958,000 after buying an additional 81,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $1,118,405.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. This represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens began coverage on Copart in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $1.3250 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.0050. The stock had a trading volume of 2,242,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,671,622. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.59. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $64.38.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. Copart had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

About Copart

Copart, Inc provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.