Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 8,762 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,938 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,762 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in LKQ were worth $1,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $241,643,000 after acquiring an additional 48,813 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 26.6% during 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in LKQ by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,231,940 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $192,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,001 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,548,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,395,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 owns 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,457,150. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

LKQ Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.19. 1,812,391 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,280,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $40.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $46.64.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The company 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 was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

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.