LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Position Reduced by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,061 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 368 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cadence Bank lifted its stake in LKQ by 2.0% during the second quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 11,204 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 4.5% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 9,977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,470 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 94.1% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $51.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.33. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $41.49 and a 52 week high of $59.38. The company has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.47.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

LKQ Company 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.