Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $11.90 Million Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,519 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.09% of LKQ worth $11,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,245,966 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,497,478,000 after acquiring an additional 382,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 5.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $511,447,000 after buying an additional 540,259 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 13.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after buying an additional 1,195,122 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in LKQ by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,002,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $430,244,000 after buying an additional 383,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in LKQ by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,292,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $349,407,000 after acquiring an additional 143,632 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $43.13 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.31 and a 200 day simple 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. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $41.30 and a 52-week high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

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.