Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 59,255 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 551,181 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,255 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.21% of LKQ worth $26,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $5,888,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $224,154,000 after purchasing an additional 114,207 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 339,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,824,000 after purchasing an additional 26,033 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 369.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 456,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,832,000 after purchasing an additional 359,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,015,499 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $48,531,000 after purchasing an additional 113,145 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $43.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $41.30 and a twelve month high of $59.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.01.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.96%.

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.