Perpetual Ltd Boosts Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,325 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,565 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.08% of LKQ worth $7,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,733,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 451.1% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $53,000,000 after buying an additional 1,086,758 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 552.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $51,412,000 after buying an additional 1,046,805 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $309,609,000 after buying an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth $19,889,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

LKQ Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ LKQ traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $39.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,600,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,322. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.80.

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.