BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 166,231 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 51.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 487,642 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 166,231 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in LKQ were worth $17,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $40.10 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.17.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,873,750 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

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.