Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Copart, Inc. by 475.0% during the first quarter, owning 756,270 shares valued at approximately $42.8 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert W. Baird both reduced their target prices for Copart from $60.00 to $55.00, indicating a cautious outlook.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares at an average price of $46.43, reducing his ownership in the company by 43.31%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 475.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 756,270 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 624,735 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Copart worth $42,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Copart during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Copart in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 152.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Copart in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Copart Stock Performance

Copart stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.81. 5,327,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,671,110. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $64.38. The stock has a market cap of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of Copart stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,798.61. This trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.