Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,258,599 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 113,448 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.48% of LKQ worth $45,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in LKQ by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its position in LKQ by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

LKQ Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded down $1.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,422,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,144. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.95. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LKQ. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

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.