Avalon Trust Co Sells 1,365 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Avalon Trust Co reduced its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 405,391 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,365 shares during the quarter. LKQ makes up about 1.8% of Avalon Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Avalon Trust Co owned about 0.15% of LKQ worth $19,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 13.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $490,528,000 after buying an additional 1,195,122 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in LKQ by 95.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,225 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,149,362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $357,182,000 after purchasing an additional 844,188 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 181.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 884,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,769,000 after purchasing an additional 569,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in LKQ by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $511,447,000 after buying an additional 540,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LKQ. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of LKQ traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,405,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,225,838. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $41.30 and a 52-week high of $59.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

LKQ 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.