UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,556 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 9,434 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in LKQ by 31.2% during the third 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 position in LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position 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 valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

LKQ Trading Up 0.5 %

LKQ stock opened at $41.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.96. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.53. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

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.