Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 31,658 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Copart by 4.1%, buying 31,658 shares to hold 798,087 shares worth about $31.35 million (roughly 0.08% of the company).
• Institutional ownership is high at 85.78% with large holders (Vanguard, Principal, State Street) raising positions, while CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares in January, cutting his stake by about 31%.
• Copart recently missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39 consensus; revenue $1.12B vs. $1.15B) and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with a $44.40 price target amid mixed analyst opinions.

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 798,087 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,658 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.08% of Copart worth $31,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CPRT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,901,310,000 after buying an additional 2,581,784 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Copart by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,806,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,101 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Copart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,062,931 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,666,720,000 after acquiring an additional 656,428 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $549,448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Copart by 7.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,931,871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $491,606,000 after acquiring an additional 771,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CPRT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. CJS Securities raised Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of Copart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,248,314.90. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Copart Price Performance

CPRT opened at $32.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.61. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.20 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85. The company has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Copart's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

About Copart

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.

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