Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,524 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,843 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.09% of LKQ worth $8,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $457,051,000 after buying an additional 134,176 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in LKQ by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $309,609,000 after acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $260,330,000 after acquiring an additional 21,161 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,395,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,572,676 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $94,546,000 after purchasing an additional 84,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock traded down $1.78 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,258,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,238,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $52.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

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.