Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,715 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 4,073 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the third quarter worth about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LKQ

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 shares were sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.29 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $52.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. On average, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.