LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,506,394 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 92,883 shares during the period. LKQ comprises approximately 1.7% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 1.35% of LKQ worth $128,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $45,733,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,363,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 451.1% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after buying an additional 1,086,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $309,609,000 after acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of LKQ by 68.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $44,492,000 after acquiring an additional 492,356 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.28. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price 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 target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

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 Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Corporate 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.