California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 461,936 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 26,711 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of LKQ worth $16,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in LKQ by 618.0% in 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded up $3.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.61. The stock had a trading volume of 4,145,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,262,869. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $51.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day moving average of $39.04. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total value of $632,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.