The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 61.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,234,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,928,551 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Copart were worth $40,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Copart during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 424.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 1,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Copart by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total value of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $29.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $26.81 and a one year high of $50.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.79.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current 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.