Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 21,752 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,068 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 21,752 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $274,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 479,800.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 11.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,599 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $436,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LKQ by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,488,432 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $99,338,000 after acquiring an additional 12,766 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $40.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its 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. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LKQ. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

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.