Capital World Investors Grows Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Capital World Investors raised its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,057,102 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 234,045 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 0.41% of LKQ worth $38,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $41.21 on Tuesday. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $41.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.14. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $49.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 1.09.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 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 set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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