Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,130,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113,303 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Copart worth $70,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Copart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,295,000 after purchasing an additional 492,506 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,085,588,000 after buying an additional 5,555,101 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $906,836,000 after buying an additional 131,703 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Copart by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $860,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter worth $569,569,000. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of Copart 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Copart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Copart Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Copart stock traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $27.51. The stock had a trading volume of 9,140,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,178,506. The stock has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.49 and a 52-week high of $50.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.88.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copart 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.