Sarasin & Partners LLP Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP has made a new investment of approximately $1.42 million in Copart, Inc., acquiring 28,907 shares during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own 85.78% of Copart's stock, with major firms like Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase significantly increasing their holdings.
• Copart's stock has seen fluctuations, recently down 2.2%, with a twelve-month trading range between $45.05 and $64.38.

Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,907 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,418,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 1st quarter worth about $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Copart by 52.2% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Copart by 53.3% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,347,000 after purchasing an additional 297,210 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Copart in the fourth quarter worth about $967,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Copart by 16.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC set a $62.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Copart Stock Up 0.9%

CPRT stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.85. The company had a trading volume of 20,163,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,097,659. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.26. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.05 and a 52-week high of $64.38.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

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 transaction of $1,118,405.84. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $10,879,053.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.