National Pension Service Purchases 157,226 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, acquiring 157,226 additional shares for a total of 1,715,293 shares valued at approximately $97 million.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Copart, with JPMorgan Chase lowering it from $60 to $55 and Stephens setting a new target of $50, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares, representing a 43.31% decrease in his holdings, as the company's stock was valued at approximately $46.43 per share at the time of sale.

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,715,293 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 157,226 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.18% of Copart worth $97,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 1st quarter worth $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 stake in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter worth $1,314,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of 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 owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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.

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 PE ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average 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 business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Copart's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total value of $1,118,405.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. This represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Copart Company 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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