Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 120,592 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 98.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 120,592 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Copart by 67.8% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 17,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 7,150 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $432,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Copart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Copart by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 2,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Copart by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after buying an additional 18,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Up 0.7%

CPRT opened at $40.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 1.10. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.41 and a 1-year high of $63.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CPRT. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Copart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

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.