Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 14,300 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 8.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 174,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Copart were worth $7,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Copart in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Copart in the third quarter worth $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Copart by 1,063.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Copart by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $37.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.57 and its 200-day moving average is $42.88. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Copart’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total transaction of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CPRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.60.

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.