Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 106,385 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 125.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,385 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Copart were worth $7,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Copart by 298.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $217,243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660,031 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 2,266.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,133 shares in the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 253.1% in the 3rd quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036,760 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 2.4% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Copart by 395.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,499,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $112,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,074 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CPRT. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Copart has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $33.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.20 and a 1-year high of $63.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.31 and a 200 day moving average of $38.27.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current 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.