Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $49.14 Million Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,337,180 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 81,545 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of LKQ worth $49,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in LKQ by 94.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ traded up $0.76 on Monday, reaching $41.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,633,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,128,122. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.77.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $781,500 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

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.