Allstate Corp Invests $1.55 Million in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 34,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $549,448,000. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position 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 valued at $343,511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007,820 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Copart by 75.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,579,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $322,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824,991 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Copart by 56.4% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,407,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310,067 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Copart by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 106,408,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,221,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144,946 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Copart Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $40.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.69. 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 $39.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 1.10.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 34.24%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.