Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Invests $239,000 in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,513 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 25.9% during the 4th 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 period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $49.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Equities analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

LKQ 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.