Van Strum & Towne Inc. Makes New $1.98 Million Investment in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Van Strum & Towne Inc. acquired a new stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 72,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,979,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Alpha Family Trust increased its position in shares of Copart by 3.4% during the first quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 11,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Copart by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in Copart by 1.4% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 26,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Copart by 62.5% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Copart by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Stock Performance

CPRT opened at $32.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.42 and a 200-day moving average of $32.04. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.72 and a 1-year high of $41.90.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 31.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, Director Diane Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $553,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,000. This represents a 28.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CPRT. Deutsche Bank set a $40.00 price objective on Copart in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Barrington Research raised Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. HSBC downgraded shares of Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.90.

Copart Profile

Copart, Inc. operates an online vehicle auction and remarketing business. Its platform connects sellers with buyers of used and damaged vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles and other equipment. The company serves insurance companies, vehicle dealers, rental and fleet operators, financial institutions and other businesses, as well as individual buyers. Its services include online auctions, vehicle storage, title processing and support with vehicle transportation. Founded in 1982 by Willis Johnson, Copart has expanded from its origins in the United States to serve customers in multiple countries, including markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East.