Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,855 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,017 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LKQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,245,966 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,497,478,000 after purchasing an additional 382,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in LKQ by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $511,447,000 after purchasing an additional 540,259 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in LKQ by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,122 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,002,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $430,244,000 after purchasing an additional 383,031 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,292,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $349,407,000 after buying an additional 143,632 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ opened at $42.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.23. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $41.30 and a one year high of $59.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.