GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $97,000 in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,245,966 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,497,478,000 after purchasing an additional 382,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $511,447,000 after buying an additional 540,259 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in LKQ by 13.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $490,528,000 after buying an additional 1,195,122 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,002,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $430,244,000 after acquiring an additional 383,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in LKQ by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,292,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $349,407,000 after purchasing an additional 143,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $43.64 on Monday. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $41.30 and a 1 year high of $59.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.14. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LKQ shares. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation engages in the distribution of replacement parts, components, and systems used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles and specialty vehicle aftermarket products and accessories. It operates through four segments: Wholesale-North America, Europe, Specialty, and Self Service. The company distributes bumper covers, automotive body panels, and lights, as well as mechanical automotive parts and accessories; salvage products, including mechanical and collision parts comprising engines; transmissions; door assemblies; sheet metal products, such as trunk lids, fenders, and hoods; lights and bumper assemblies; scrap metal and other materials to metals recyclers; and brake pads, discs and sensors, clutches, steering and suspension products, filters, and oil and automotive fluids, as well as electrical products, including spark plugs and batteries.