Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Takes $165.55 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,504,708 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $165,548,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 1.73% of LKQ at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th 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 period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the third quarter worth about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LKQ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 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 MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Down 1.6 %

LKQ stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.82. 830,349 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,258,990. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $46.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.09.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. LKQ's payout ratio is presently 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.