Dean Investment Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Dean Investment Associates LLC decreased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,508 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 10,588 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $2,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LKQ by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $42.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,515,571. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.