LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,059,686 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 15,633 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in LKQ were worth $50,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LKQ shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $41.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $41.46 and a one year high of $59.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.36.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 17.24%. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.29%.

LKQ 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.