Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 126,964 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,490 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 126,964 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in LKQ were worth $14,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.80.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.65 on Wednesday. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $41.46 and a 12 month high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.36.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 34.29%.

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.