Focus Partners Wealth Sells 2,080 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Focus Partners Wealth trimmed its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.06% of LKQ worth $5,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake 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 worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,890 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $42.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.26.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

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.