State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Lowers Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,547 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 18,069 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in LKQ were worth $2,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $91,678,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,575 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $559,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in LKQ by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,657,000 after buying an additional 11,975 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ traded up $1.21 on Friday, hitting $39.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,094,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,716. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $46.64. The firm has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.14.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.78%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,054,450. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LKQ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research reiterated 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. raised their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.