PineStone Asset Management Inc. Acquires 794,502 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,517,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 794,502 shares during the quarter. Copart accounts for approximately 2.1% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $333,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPRT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Copart by 13.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 45,346 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings 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 valued at $125,044,000 after buying an additional 1,200,035 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.2% during 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 buying an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter worth $3,382,000. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 3,181,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $143,091,000 after buying an additional 212,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $33.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75 and a beta of 1.09. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.20 and a 12-month high of $63.85.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Copart

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.