1,098,321 Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,098,321 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,363,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $91,678,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,575 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $559,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $367,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.09. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $49.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.47% 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.