Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Lowers Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,275 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,033 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 38,059 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,201 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 12,231 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in LKQ by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 41,177 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 5,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.91. The company has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

About LKQ

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.