Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,461,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 760,156 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.56% of LKQ worth $53,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 107.0% in the 4th quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 72,050 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after buying an additional 37,250 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 446,173 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,397,000 after acquiring an additional 85,394 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in LKQ by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 54,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 137,795 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,064,000 after purchasing an additional 12,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Down 0.1 %

LKQ stock opened at $42.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.34 and its 200-day moving average is $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.