Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,494,650 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $91,678,000. LKQ accounts for approximately 1.8% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 0.96% of LKQ as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in LKQ by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $457,051,000 after purchasing an additional 134,176 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in LKQ by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $309,609,000 after acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $241,643,000 after acquiring an additional 48,813 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at $119,395,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,572,676 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $94,546,000 after purchasing an additional 84,244 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total transaction of $416,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.57. 555,279 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,261,711. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $50.56. The company has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.04.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Company 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.