Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $9.85 Million Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 58.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,031 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 99,229 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of LKQ worth $9,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.19. The stock had a trading volume of 4,852,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,269,864. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.85. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.68. 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 released 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 firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total transaction of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $781,500. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.