Confluence Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 283,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52,061 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Copart were worth $11,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Copart by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $1,806,674,000 after buying an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,062,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,666,720,000 after buying an additional 656,428 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter worth about $549,448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 7.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,931,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $491,606,000 after acquiring an additional 771,573 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $32.52 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.20 and a 1-year high of $63.85. The company has a market capitalization of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.05.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. The trade was a 30.99% 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. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CPRT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, 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. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.40.

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.