Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,291,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,561 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Copart worth $103,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 1,063.0% during the second quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in Copart by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 735 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $39.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.99. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.41 and a 52 week high of $63.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Copart had a net margin of 34.24% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CPRT shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

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.