LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Purchased by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 118.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,467,822 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 796,461 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.56% of LKQ worth $53,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.66 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.19 and a 200-day moving average of $38.97. 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 released its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.