Aviva PLC Reduces Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Aviva PLC decreased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 828,504 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 31,017 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $30,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in LKQ by 81.0% during 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 during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.03. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $52.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.