Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. Copart comprises approximately 0.9% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 4.15% of Copart worth $1,806,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth approximately $549,448,000. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Copart by 75.3% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 7,000,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007,820 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,579,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $322,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824,991 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Copart by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,408,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,221,483,000 after buying an additional 2,144,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $260,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503,771 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $40.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.34. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.41 and a twelve month high of $63.85. The company has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Copart’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Copart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.