New Hampshire Trust Invests $228,000 in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

New Hampshire Trust acquired a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,278 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,324,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,507,873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351,389 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 13.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $490,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,122 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 95.1% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $114,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in LKQ by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after acquiring an additional 977,585 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $41.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.28. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $39.72 and a 1 year high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $38,581.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,467. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.