Fmr LLC Sells 411,926 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

FMR LLC reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,608,763 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 411,926 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 2.16% of LKQ worth $206,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in 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 last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in LKQ during the third quarter worth $81,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in 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 during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $42.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,639,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,159. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.12. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $49.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.09.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.