Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,637,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,356,083 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $1,050,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $27.44 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $50.11.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

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.