National Pension Service Purchases 20,820 Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,483,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,820 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Copart were worth $72,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CPRT. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Copart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Copart by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Copart by 87.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 694 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Copart during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 100.0% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Copart from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Copart Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.36. 1,479,032 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,454,672. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.98. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $39.62 and a one year high of $58.58. The company has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68 and a beta of 1.22.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). Copart had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matt Blunt sold 100,000 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $5,106,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 285,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $15,751,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,450. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matt Blunt sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $5,106,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 985,000 shares of company stock worth $55,519,950. 10.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Copart Profile

Copart, Inc provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.