Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $45.49 Million Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,258,599 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 113,448 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.48% of LKQ worth $45,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.54 on Thursday. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.68. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.98 and a 200-day moving average of $38.92.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.