Ninety One UK Ltd Buys Shares of 500,510 Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 500,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,595,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 298.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $217,243,000 after buying an additional 3,660,031 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Copart by 2,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,895,000 after buying an additional 3,533,133 shares in the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 253.1% during the 3rd quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $190,527,000 after buying an additional 3,036,760 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after buying an additional 2,581,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Copart by 395.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,499,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $112,397,000 after buying an additional 1,995,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $33.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.97. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $63.85. The stock has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 1.14.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.40.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value 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. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Company Profile

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.