William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $449,000 Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,231 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,915 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the fourth 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.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Down 1.6 %

LKQ stock opened at $41.55 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.62 and a 200-day moving average of $38.94. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.