Eventide Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC has invested approximately $331,000 in Copart, Inc. by acquiring 5,999 shares of the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Copart's CEO, Jeffrey Liaw, sold 24,088 shares on July 15, which represents a 43.31% decrease in his ownership, bringing his total shares to about 31,527.
• Copart's latest earnings report showed a 2.9% year-over-year increase in revenue, with reported earnings per share of $0.41, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.37.

Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,999 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $5,900,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,890 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,409,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,230,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,687 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Copart by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $868,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106,656 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 7.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,490,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $537,052,000 after purchasing an additional 658,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Copart by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 9,380,026 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $531,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,299,192 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of Copart stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,570,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,809,450. The company has a market capitalization of $46.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88 and a beta of 1.03. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.05 and a 52 week high of $64.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.64.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. Copart had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CPRT shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. HSBC set a $62.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.50.

Copart Company 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.