Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 65,862 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 40.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,262 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 91,386 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,648,000 after buying an additional 3,259 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 23,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 94.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in LKQ by 28.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,533 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 5,394 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LKQ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ opened at $40.49 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.63 and a 200-day moving average of $38.76. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $781,500 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ 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.