Barclays PLC Acquires 41,542 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 534,960 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 41,542 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $19,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during 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 during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total transaction of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 359,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $42.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average of $39.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $49.50.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

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.