LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Acquired by Allworth Financial LP

Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 107.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in LKQ were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $781,500. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Up 1.9 %

LKQ stock opened at $41.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.77. The stock has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. On average, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.