Martin Currie Ltd. Cuts Position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• Martin Currie Ltd. has reduced its stake in Copart, Inc. by 15.5%, now holding 155,365 shares worth approximately $8.79 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, have increased their holdings in Copart during the same quarter.
• Copart's stock has a current market cap of $45.31 billion, with a 52-week trading range between $45.05 and $64.38.

Martin Currie Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,365 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 28,460 shares during the quarter. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Copart were worth $8,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Copart by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,263,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,900,295,000 after buying an additional 2,134,890 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,409,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,230,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,687 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,353,932 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,225,502,000 after purchasing an additional 169,354 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $868,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,490,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $537,052,000 after purchasing an additional 658,329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the firm'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 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 trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $46.86 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.05 and a 52-week high of $64.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.95.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Copart in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd.

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.

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