Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 13.9%, acquiring a total of 273,481 shares valued at approximately $15.48 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Western Pacific Wealth Management and Blue Trust Inc., also raised their stakes in Copart during the first quarter, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 85.78%.
• Copart reported a 7.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, posting earnings per share of $0.42, which matched analysts' expectations.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,481 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,367 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Copart were worth $15,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Copart by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,263,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,900,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,890 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Copart by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,409,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,230,177,000 after buying an additional 1,249,687 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Copart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,353,932 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,225,502,000 after buying an additional 169,354 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Copart by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $868,417,000 after buying an additional 2,106,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Copart by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,490,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $537,052,000 after buying an additional 658,329 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

Copart stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.96. The company had a trading volume of 6,224,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,696,844. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.05 and a 12-month high of $64.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.04.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Copart's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total value of $1,118,405.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. The trade was a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Copart in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.33.

Copart Company Profile

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.