Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Sells 140,261 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lessened its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,671 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 140,261 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE's holdings in LKQ were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,733,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $40,363,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in LKQ by 11.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 833,519 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in LKQ by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,467,822 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $53,942,000 after purchasing an additional 796,461 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of LKQ by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $44,492,000 after purchasing an additional 492,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,669,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,738. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 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.