Axa S.A. Raises Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

AXA S.A. boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 257.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,552 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,272 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LKQ. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $165,548,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LKQ during the 4th quarter worth about $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,678,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $40,363,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,175. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.19.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed 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 target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 316,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,019,452.70. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.