Maren Capital LLC Increases Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Maren Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,207,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 254,563 shares during the quarter. Copart accounts for about 4.6% of Maren Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Maren Capital LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Copart worth $86,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Copart by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 235,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,242,000 after acquiring an additional 11,321 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Copart by 1,663.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,326,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137,997 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Copart by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 331,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after acquiring an additional 18,490 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth about $4,862,000. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth about $375,000. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This trade represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $30.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.01. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $29.97 and a one year high of $50.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.18.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.