PGGM Investments Sells 57,469 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

PGGM Investments lowered its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 83,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 57,469 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in LKQ were worth $3,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in LKQ by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,763 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 16,698 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,162 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 23,197 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,037 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,606 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LKQ

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 value of $10,394,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LKQ. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $43.64 on Monday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.30 and a fifty-two week high of $59.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.14. The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. LKQ’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

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.