LPL Financial LLC Acquires 11,975 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,729 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,975 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $4,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LKQ. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in LKQ by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,572,676 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $94,546,000 after purchasing an additional 84,244 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in LKQ by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,689,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $62,082,000 after buying an additional 136,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,478,420 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $54,332,000 after purchasing an additional 150,756 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $41.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.70 and a 200 day moving average of $39.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $51.23.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

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.