Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 557,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 405,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $21,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,901,310,000 after buying an additional 2,581,784 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $1,806,674,000 after buying an additional 1,236,101 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Copart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,062,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,666,720,000 after buying an additional 656,428 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Copart by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,931,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $491,606,000 after buying an additional 771,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Copart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,931,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,637,000 after purchasing an additional 97,411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $33.44 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.75. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $63.85. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 1.02.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CPRT. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.40.

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.