Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 813,339 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 293,872 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.31% of LKQ worth $29,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in LKQ by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,669,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,738. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.96.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.