Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Sells 153,055 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada cut its Copart stake by 57.6% in the first quarter, selling 153,055 shares and ending with 112,764 shares worth about $3.7 million.
• Copart CEO Jeffrey Liaw also sold shares, disposing of 26,213 shares for roughly $869,747 and reducing his direct ownership by about 24.8%.
• Copart posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.43 on revenue of $1.24 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $44.50.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 57.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,764 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 153,055 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Copart were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPRT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Copart by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 798,087 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,353,000 after acquiring an additional 31,658 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Copart by 14.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 333,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,076,000 after acquiring an additional 41,060 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its position in Copart by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 199,794 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,822,000 after purchasing an additional 90,339 shares during the period. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 100,151 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 36,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 193.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 944,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,491,000 after purchasing an additional 623,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This trade represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,850,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,868,631. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day moving average of $35.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.84 and a 12-month high of $50.11.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Copart's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CPRT. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Copart from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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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