Choreo LLC Purchases New Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 17,799 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in LKQ by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 551,181 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,345,000 after acquiring an additional 59,255 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA lifted its stake in LKQ by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 375,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $17,966,000 after purchasing an additional 63,937 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in LKQ by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,780 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ opened at $43.13 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.31 and a 200-day moving average of $48.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.33. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.30 and a fifty-two week high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LKQ. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.