Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Copart, Inc. by 7.0%, now owning 390,140 shares valued at approximately $19.14 million.
• Copart reported $1.13 billion in revenue in its latest quarterly earnings, slightly below analysts' expectations, while EPS beat estimates at $0.41.
• Equities research analysts have varying outlooks on Copart, with HSBC upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating and a price target of $62.00, while Stephens lowered their target from $50.00 to $46.00.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,140 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,470 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Copart were worth $19,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 152.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

Copart stock opened at $44.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.97. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $44.67 and a one year high of $64.38. The stock has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06 and a beta of 1.03.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. Copart had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 33.41%.The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CPRT shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. HSBC set a $62.00 price objective on Copart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total value of $10,879,053.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,798.61. This trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Copart 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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