Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires 54,423 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management has increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 24.7%, acquiring an additional 54,423 shares for a total of 274,921 shares valued at $15,559,000.
• Other hedge funds, including Edgewood Management LLC and Franklin Resources Inc., also raised their stakes in Copart significantly in the fourth quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Copart's stock is facing mixed analyst ratings, with JPMorgan lowering its price target to $55 and setting a "neutral" rating amid recent earnings that met expectations.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,921 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,423 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Copart were worth $15,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in Copart by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 23,463,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,346,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,405 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Copart by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,157,306 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $812,488,000 after buying an additional 1,785,741 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Copart by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,296,060 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $246,551,000 after buying an additional 1,590,706 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Copart by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,409,377 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,230,177,000 after buying an additional 1,249,687 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Copart by 6,774.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151,720 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Stephens began coverage on shares of Copart in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $46.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32 and a beta of 1.07. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.52 and a 52 week high of $64.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.86.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

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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