Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,843 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in LKQ were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of 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 buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of LKQ by 31.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.91. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed 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. upped their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.