Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 14,300 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,300 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Copart were worth $7,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $248,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Copart during the third quarter worth $431,000. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Copart by 383.6% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 165,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,449,000 after buying an additional 131,402 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in Copart during the third quarter valued at $459,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Copart by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $37.49 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $63.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.57 and its 200-day moving average is $42.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.