Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $2.97 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 80,771 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,970,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in LKQ by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.96. 309,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,265,075. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $41.00 and a 200 day moving average of $39.07. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $50.13.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. Research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 321,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 over the last three months. 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.