LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 489,309 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 11,389 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in LKQ were worth $23,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in LKQ by 228.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $43.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.14. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $41.30 and a 12-month high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

LKQ Profile

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.