Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys Shares of 30,320 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,320 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted 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 valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $40.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.