AIA Group Ltd Decreases Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd cut its Copart stake by 36.7% in the first quarter, selling 50,234 shares and leaving it with 86,516 shares worth about $2.87 million.
• Copart reported quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 2.1% year over year to $1.24 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but constructive overall: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $44.50, well above its recent trading level around $27.61.

AIA Group Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 36.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,516 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 50,234 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Copart were worth $2,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,470,295,000 after purchasing an additional 492,506 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Copart by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Copart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $906,836,000 after purchasing an additional 131,703 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $860,618,000 after buying an additional 3,918,610 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth about $569,569,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $27.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $30.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.44. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.23 and a 52 week high of $50.11.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Copart from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Copart Company 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.

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