Cerity Partners LLC Buys 192,955 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 956.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 213,133 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192,955 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of LKQ worth $7,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter valued at $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in LKQ by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ opened at $42.01 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $50.13. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.09. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average is $39.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.