Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $5.09 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,477 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 47,361 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.05% of LKQ worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in LKQ by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.91. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.80%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.