Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Purchases 13,520 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 256.6% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 18,788 shares valued at approximately $1.06 million.
• Copart's stock price at opening was $47.81, with a market cap of $46.23 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of Copart, indicating a 43.31% decrease in his ownership, which raised concerns about insider trading activity.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 256.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,788 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Copart were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 289.6% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 34,322 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 25,512 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the first quarter worth $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 52.2% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,862 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth $1,314,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 53.3% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,347,000 after purchasing an additional 297,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. This represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.96. 6,224,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,532,967. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.53. The company has a market cap of $47.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.04. Copart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.05 and a 12 month high of $64.38.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Copart had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CPRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 assumed coverage on shares of Copart in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.33.

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.