Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,648,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 130,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Copart worth $119,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CPRT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,806,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Copart by 3.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,406,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,786,467,000 after buying an additional 1,167,265 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Copart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,462,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $999,305,000 after buying an additional 656,333 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $549,448,000. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Copart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.40.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $36.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.67. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.81 and a 1 year high of $63.85.

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

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.