LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 572,029 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 151,278 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.22% of LKQ worth $21,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after buying 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 period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter worth $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Trading Up 1.6 %

LKQ traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.03. 1,639,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,277,159. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.12. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $49.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.09.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for 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, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 359,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reiterated 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 raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

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.