Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,414 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 11,531 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in LKQ were worth $4,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LKQ. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 12,853 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 813,339 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $29,890,000 after purchasing an additional 293,872 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,657,000 after buying an additional 11,975 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at $3,117,000. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 308,803 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $11,348,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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LKQ Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.29. 3,708,560 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,229,734. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $52.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. Research 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LKQ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $14,975,186.92. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.