Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Copart, Inc. by 7.1%, selling 213,943 shares in the first quarter, and now owns approximately 0.29% of the company, valued at $158.7 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have increased their stakes in Copart during the same period, highlighting strong interest in the company.
• Copart's stock has seen recent changes in analyst ratings, with price targets adjusted down by firms like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert W. Baird, indicating a cautious outlook on its future performance.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,805,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 213,943 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.29% of Copart worth $158,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter worth $267,723,000. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Copart by 195.6% in the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,992,610 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,263,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,900,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,890 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 15.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $868,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter worth $87,903,000. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

CPRT stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.81. 5,330,175 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,684,712. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $64.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Copart Profile

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.