JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 2,106,656 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 15.9%, now owning 15,345,768 shares valued at approximately $868.4 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 85.78% of Copart's shares, indicating strong investor interest in the company.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Copart, with JPMorgan lowering theirs from $60 to $55 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,106,656 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.59% of Copart worth $868,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CPRT. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Copart by 289.6% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 34,322 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 25,512 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Copart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Copart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,314,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Copart by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,347,000 after purchasing an additional 297,210 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Copart in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $46.19 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39 and a beta of 1.04. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.05 and a 1 year high of $64.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.19.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 32.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $1,118,405.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,463,798.61. This represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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