LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 268,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 99,229 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in LKQ were worth $9,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LKQ. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,733,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 451.1% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in LKQ by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,889,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in LKQ by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,492,000 after purchasing an additional 492,356 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Stock Up 0.7 %

LKQ stock opened at $41.54 on Wednesday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. On average, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $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 through this link. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $781,500 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

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.