Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,614 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 8,614 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.05 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.34 and its 200 day moving average is $38.88. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.29. 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 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

About LKQ

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.