LPL Financial LLC Buys 11,975 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,975 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $4,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at $81,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Up 0.1 %

LKQ traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.19. 137,137 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,264,407. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $50.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.07.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.