Norges Bank Purchases New Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,248,832 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,395,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 15.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,178 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 207,055 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $8,266,000 after buying an additional 42,634 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ by 7.3% during the 3rd 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. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 30,447 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in LKQ by 8.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,975 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.28. 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 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.53.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.