Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $21.83 Million Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 369.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 456,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 359,606 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in LKQ were worth $21,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 271.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,612,434 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $459,990,000 after purchasing an additional 6,296,379 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,693,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 84.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,172,143 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $280,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819,542 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 15.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,749,817 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $306,509,000 after purchasing an additional 914,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 13.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,149,362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $357,182,000 after purchasing an additional 844,188 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $47.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $41.49 and a 1-year high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 17.24%. LKQ’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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

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.