Bridges Investment Management Inc. Purchases 213,607 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Bridges Investment Management increased its Copart position by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 213,607 shares and bringing its total holdings to 915,183 shares worth about $35.8 million.
• Institutional interest in Copart remains strong, with several major funds raising stakes and 85.78% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• Copart’s latest quarter showed solid results, with EPS of $0.43 topping estimates and revenue of $1.24 billion beating expectations, though analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a $44.50 target price.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 915,183 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 213,607 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Copart worth $35,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter valued at about $569,569,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 298.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,660,031 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Copart by 2,266.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $165,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,533,133 shares during the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 253.1% during the third quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $190,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CPRT. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. 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, Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $30.86 on Wednesday. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.43 and a 1 year high of $51.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.22 and its 200 day moving average is $36.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Copart's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CPRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.