LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Holdings Cut by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,876,333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 115,192 shares during the quarter. LKQ comprises about 1.4% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in LKQ were worth $142,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at $663,000. Amundi grew its stake in LKQ by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,415,390 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,474,000 after buying an additional 202,676 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in LKQ by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 54,410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after buying an additional 16,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its stake in LKQ by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 12,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 5,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.90. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.