Avior Wealth Management LLC Acquires 6,100 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 86.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,171 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in LKQ by 94.1% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 228.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $47.91 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.36. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $41.49 and a one year high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. LKQ’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

LKQ Company 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.