B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $1.35 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,660 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 9,427 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,551 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in LKQ by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 244,524 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $8,986,000 after acquiring an additional 60,843 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in LKQ by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 78,201 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $3,329,000. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $42.18 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $52.68. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.46 and its 200 day moving average is $39.05. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.28.

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, 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ presently has an average rating of “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.