Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,532,218 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 132,967 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.13% of LKQ worth $1,158,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LKQ Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.