Copart, Inc. $CPRT Position Cut by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,105,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,551,452 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.56% of Copart worth $679,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Copart by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Copart by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,101 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Copart by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,406,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,786,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,265 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Copart in the second quarter worth about $549,448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Copart by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,931,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $491,606,000 after buying an additional 771,573 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Insider Activity at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Copart Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $34.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.43. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.53 and a 52-week high of $63.85. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Copart’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

About Copart

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.