Bellecapital International Ltd. Raises Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 194,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,350 shares during the period. Copart makes up approximately 1.4% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Copart were worth $8,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Copart by 1.8% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 12,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the first quarter worth about $138,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Copart by 105.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 910,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,511,000 after purchasing an additional 467,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Copart by 158.9% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 90,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,145,000 after purchasing an additional 55,794 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Up 0.5%

CPRT opened at $39.30 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.70 and its 200-day moving average is $44.80. The stock has a market cap of $38.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 1.12. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.18 and a twelve month high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 34.24%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Stephens reduced their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total transaction of $1,087,635.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,360.28. This represents a 43.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.