Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Franklin Resources trimmed its Copart stake by 8.6% in Q3, selling 431,996 shares and now holding 4,581,966 shares worth about $206.1 million (roughly 0.47% of the company).
• Analyst coverage is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a $44.40 consensus target, while some firms have cut price targets (JPMorgan to $34, Barclays to $32) and ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Copart missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39; revenue $1.12B vs. $1.15B), the stock traded down about 4.4% to $33.97, and CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold shares, reducing his stake by roughly 31%.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,581,966 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 431,996 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Copart worth $206,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Copart by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 371,603 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,711,000 after buying an additional 45,346 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Copart by 89.0% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,548,275 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $125,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,035 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,806,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Copart in the third quarter valued at about $3,382,000. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its position in shares of Copart by 7.2% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 3,181,919 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $143,091,000 after acquiring an additional 212,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CPRT. CJS Securities upgraded Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Copart Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $33.97 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.81 and a 12-month high of $63.85. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 1.09.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Copart's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Copart Profile

Copart NASDAQ: CPRT is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart's business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.

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