California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,526 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 93,858 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of LKQ worth $13,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in 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 in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 92.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ LKQ traded down $0.45 on Wednesday, reaching $39.92. 2,148,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,286,174. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.56. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.98.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the business'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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm'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 owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at $13,535,840.25. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Company 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.