Fiera Capital Corp Purchases 2,642,100 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 195.6% during the first quarter, now owning 3,992,610 shares worth approximately $225.9 million.
• Other hedge funds have also adjusted their stakes, with 85.78% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Copart reported a net margin of 32.21% for the last quarter, with earnings per share hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42.

Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 195.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,992,610 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,642,100 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.41% of Copart worth $225,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 1,567.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 884 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Copart by 51.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Up 0.5%

CPRT stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.58. 3,042,404 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,686,154. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.05 and a twelve month high of $64.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. Copart's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CPRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens initiated 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.

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.