ABN Amro Investment Solutions Acquires 90,339 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its Copart stake by 82.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 90,339 shares and bringing its total holdings to 199,794 shares valued at about $7.82 million.
• Copart reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.43 versus estimates of $0.41 and revenue of $1.24 billion, which also came in above analyst forecasts.
• Despite mixed analyst sentiment and a recent insider sale by CEO Jeffrey Liaw, institutional ownership remains very high at 85.78% of the stock, and the shares recently traded near $34.40.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 82.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,794 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 90,339 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Copart were worth $7,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Copart by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581,784 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Copart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,806,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,101 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Copart by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,062,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,666,720,000 after acquiring an additional 656,428 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,931,871 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $491,606,000 after purchasing an additional 771,573 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,931,216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $401,637,000 after purchasing an additional 97,411 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Copart Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $34.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.32 and a 200 day moving average of $37.23. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.20 and a 52 week high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.02.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,638,871.76. This trade represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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