Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,504,708 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $165,548,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 1.73% of LKQ as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in LKQ in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP grew 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 valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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 upgraded LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.48 and a 200-day moving average of $39.16. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.76. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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