GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 94.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,487 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 240,594 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC's holdings in Copart were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter valued at $682,089,000. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Copart by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 23,463,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,346,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,405 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Copart by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,157,306 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $812,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,741 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,296,060 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $246,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,409,377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,230,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249,687 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.69. 4,690,050 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,710,022. The company's 50 day moving average is $50.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.02. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.52 and a twelve month high of $64.38. The company has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Copart had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CPRT shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Copart in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of Copart 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,463,798.61. This trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.68% of the stock is owned by company 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.