Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 623,012 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 193.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 944,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 623,012 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Copart worth $42,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Copart by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 371,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,711,000 after buying an additional 45,346 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Copart by 89.0% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,548,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $125,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,035 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,236,101 shares during the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP bought a new position in Copart in the third quarter valued at about $3,382,000. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Copart by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 3,181,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,091,000 after purchasing an additional 212,520 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CPRT shares. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $34.09 on Monday. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.53 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.71 and its 200 day moving average is $41.38. The company has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.09.

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

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.