Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,200 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 153,636 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 0.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 103,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 7.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,372 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $781,500. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ opened at $41.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

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.