Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 120.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,939 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,209 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Copart were worth $4,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter valued at about $682,089,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Copart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,686,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 19,440,046 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,115,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,667,534 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 23,463,118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,346,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,405 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Copart by 335.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,705,354 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Argus downgraded Copart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, Director Steven D. Cohan sold 94,997 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $5,700,769.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James E. Meeks sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $5,400,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $11,401,000. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Copart Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:CPRT traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.90. 4,381,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,414,111. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87 and a beta of 1.22. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.05 and a 52 week high of $64.38. The firm's 50 day moving average is $56.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.13.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 32.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

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.