Swiss National Bank Lowers Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 743,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 46,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of LKQ worth $27,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 22,575 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 valued at $309,609,000 after buying an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $634,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 268,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after buying an additional 99,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 27,310.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 64,415 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,571,000 after buying an additional 64,180 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $42.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.92. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.