WESCAP Management Group Inc. Trims Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

WESCAP Management Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,622 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,006 shares during the period. WESCAP Management Group Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,395,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $40,363,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in LKQ by 11.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in LKQ by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,467,822 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,942,000 after purchasing an additional 796,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,492,000 after purchasing an additional 492,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $2,048,550. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $42.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.00. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.15. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 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 (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.