Copart, Inc. $CPRT Holdings Decreased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,938,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 111,626 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Copart worth $52,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpha Family Trust increased its holdings in Copart by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Family Trust now owns 11,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in Copart by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 26,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Copart by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Copart by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 50,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diane Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total value of $553,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,000. This represents a 28.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Copart Trading Up 5.0%

CPRT stock opened at $32.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.31. Copart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.72 and a twelve month high of $42.95. The company has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 31.81%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CPRT. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays set a $25.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Copart from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.90.

About Copart

Copart, Inc is a provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a digital marketplace that connects vehicle sellers with a broad network of buyers, including licensed dismantlers, rebuilders, used-car dealers, exporters and individual consumers.

Copart primarily sells vehicles that have been damaged, declared total losses by insurers, repossessed, donated or otherwise designated for resale. Its services also include vehicle storage, transportation, towing coordination, title processing, inspection and auction support.