Legal & General Group Plc Sells 889,589 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,601,627 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 889,589 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.62% of LKQ worth $58,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $91,678,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in LKQ by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,571,136 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $204,739,000 after buying an additional 1,171,481 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $40,363,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $42.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average is $39.06. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $50.13.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

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.