Headlands Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 267.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,481 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,476 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $3,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKQ has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $42.54 on Tuesday. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.98. The company has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors 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 yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s 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.