Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 1,813 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,938 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,813 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in LKQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in LKQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LKQ shares. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.69 and a 200-day moving average of $38.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.