National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,127 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 14,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in LKQ were worth $4,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $457,051,000 after acquiring an additional 134,176 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $119,395,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,572,676 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $94,546,000 after purchasing an additional 84,244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.29 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.03. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $52.06. 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 (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. The trade was a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LKQ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.