E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 12,592 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 79.7%, owning a total of 28,385 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million after purchasing 12,592 shares in the first quarter.
• Copart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.42, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, a 7.5% increase from the previous year.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares at an average price of $46.43, marking a 43.31% decrease in his ownership position.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 79.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,385 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,592 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Copart were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Copart by 289.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the 1st quarter valued at $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Copart by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 8,181 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter valued at $1,314,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Copart by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,347,000 after buying an additional 297,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPRT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens began coverage on Copart in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.08. 4,688,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,882,411. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.05 and a 1-year high of $64.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.88. The firm has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.04.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. Copart had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 32.21%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Copart's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was 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 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 at this link. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.