Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,601,627 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 889,589 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in LKQ were worth $58,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $91,678,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in LKQ by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,564,000 after buying an additional 22,575 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $559,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $367,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $42.01 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $50.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.09. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. As a group, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.