Korea Investment CORP Buys Shares of 896,942 Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 896,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,285,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Copart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth $25,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the first quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 110.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Copart by 424.2% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 1,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.67.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $33.80 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.66. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.81 and a 52-week high of $50.11. The company has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total transaction of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.