Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 241,376 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,555,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 241,376 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Copart were worth $69,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in Copart during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Copart in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Copart by 110.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 3,550.0% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Copart by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of CPRT stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $31.83. 7,625,760 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,420,938. The firm has a market cap of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. Copart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.72 and a 52 week high of $41.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.00.

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

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, Director Diane Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total value of $553,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,000. This represents a 28.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CPRT. Freedom Broker reduced their price objective on Copart from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank set a $40.00 price target on Copart in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. HSBC downgraded Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Barrington Research raised Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.90.

About Copart

Copart, Inc. operates an online vehicle auction and remarketing business. Its platform connects sellers with buyers of used and damaged vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles and other equipment. The company serves insurance companies, vehicle dealers, rental and fleet operators, financial institutions and other businesses, as well as individual buyers. Its services include online auctions, vehicle storage, title processing and support with vehicle transportation. Founded in 1982 by Willis Johnson, Copart has expanded from its origins in the United States to serve customers in multiple countries, including markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East.