CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 72,118 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 262,527 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 72,118 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.10% of LKQ worth $9,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter worth approximately $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at $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 worth $204,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,481 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,363,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in LKQ by 1,008.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 964,923 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $35,461,000 after buying an additional 877,888 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.41. 4,324,347 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,264,039. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64. 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 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 1.09.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted 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. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, 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 value of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.