22,785 Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Sold by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Provident Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 41.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,837 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,785 shares during the quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth about $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth about $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $436,413,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Copart by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,706,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $322,256,000 after buying an additional 2,165,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Copart by 97.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,059,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,381,000 after buying an additional 4,482,226 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $29.00 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.63. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.72 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.06.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Copart had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 31.81%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CPRT. Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Copart from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Barrington Research raised shares of Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Freedom Broker lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total transaction of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane M. Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total value of $553,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,000. The trade was a 28.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Copart

Copart, Inc is a provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a digital marketplace that connects vehicle sellers with a broad network of buyers, including licensed dismantlers, rebuilders, used-car dealers, exporters and individual consumers.

Copart primarily sells vehicles that have been damaged, declared total losses by insurers, repossessed, donated or otherwise designated for resale. Its services also include vehicle storage, transportation, towing coordination, title processing, inspection and auction support.