Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 117,414 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 11,531 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in LKQ were worth $4,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during 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 during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.59 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $40.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $53.53.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.