Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 139,329 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Copart, Inc. by 60.6%, acquiring an additional 139,329 shares, bringing their total to 369,080 shares valued at approximately $20.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently invested in Copart, with 85.78% of the company's stock now owned by institutional stakeholders.
• Copart announced earnings of $0.41 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while the stock has a current consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $55.50.

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 60.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,080 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 139,329 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Copart were worth $20,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Copart in the 1st quarter valued at $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Copart by 52.2% in 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 buying an additional 8,181 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Copart by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,347,000 after buying an additional 297,210 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Copart in the 4th quarter valued at $967,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Copart by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. HSBC set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. The trade was a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Copart Stock Performance

CPRT stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.07. The company had a trading volume of 6,626,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,834,684. The firm has a market cap of $46.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $47.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.67. Copart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.05 and a 12 month high of $64.38.

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

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.