Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Sells 2,380 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,380 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in LKQ by 7.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,372 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 65,217 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 27,931 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 103,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,118,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,418,725 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $56,631,000 after acquiring an additional 407,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $43.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.56 and a 200-day moving average of $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. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68.

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 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.