Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 293,872 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 56.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 813,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 293,872 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $29,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $457,051,000 after acquiring an additional 134,176 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ by 7.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,020,689 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $240,346,000 after buying an additional 411,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $94,546,000 after buying an additional 84,244 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $40.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average of $38.92. 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 $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.