London Co. of Virginia Trims Stock Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia cut its Copart stake by 9.2% in the first quarter, selling 276,654 shares and ending with 2.73 million shares worth about $90.7 million.
• Copart reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.43 EPS versus the $0.41 consensus and revenue of $1.24 billion, above estimates of $1.19 billion.
• Despite mixed analyst views, Copart’s stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $43.50 average price target, while the shares recently traded near $27.94, close to their 52-week low.

London Co. of Virginia decreased its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,730,705 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 276,654 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia owned about 0.28% of Copart worth $90,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,470,295,000 after acquiring an additional 492,506 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $906,836,000 after purchasing an additional 131,703 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Copart by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $860,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Copart during the 4th quarter worth about $569,569,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $27.94 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.81 and a 52-week high of $50.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.17 and a 200 day moving average of $34.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 1.02.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CPRT shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Copart from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $26.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Copart Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.