Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes $141,000 Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,838 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $241,643,000 after acquiring an additional 48,813 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,571,136 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $204,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,481 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in LKQ by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,231,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $192,268,000 after buying an additional 1,053,001 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $165,548,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $160,339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $42.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average is $39.34. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,873,750. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.