Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Invests $239,000 in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,513 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $91,678,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in LKQ by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,571,136 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $204,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,481 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,363,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of LKQ by 1,008.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 964,923 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $35,461,000 after purchasing an additional 877,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.47. 492,563 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,275,371. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.16. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.76.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ 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 owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Company 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.