Prudential PLC Acquires 55,781 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 371.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,781 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Copart were worth $2,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Copart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Copart during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Copart by 365.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Copart Price Performance

Copart stock opened at $30.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.52. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.97 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The company has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Copart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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.