Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 47,176 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Copart, Inc. by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 47,176 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1,252,297 shares worth approximately $70.87 million.
• Copart's CEO, Jeffrey Liaw, sold 24,088 shares at an average price of $46.43, reducing his ownership by 43.31% and resulting in a remaining stake valued at about $1.46 million.
• Despite a 7.5% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.21 billion in the latest quarter, Copart's earnings per share met expectations at $0.42, prompting various analysts to adjust their price targets lower.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,252,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,176 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Copart worth $70,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Copart in the first quarter valued at approximately $267,723,000. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Copart by 195.6% in the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 3,992,610 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Copart by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 104,263,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,900,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,890 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Copart by 15.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $868,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Copart by 63.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,832,465 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $216,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,457 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.96. 6,224,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,532,967. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.04. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.05 and a twelve month high of $64.38.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. Copart had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,463,798.61. This trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CPRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Copart in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.33.

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.