Machina Capital S.A.S. Makes New $382,000 Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,003 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 13.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,122 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 95.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,225 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,149,362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $357,182,000 after purchasing an additional 844,188 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 181.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 884,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $43,769,000 after purchasing an additional 569,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $511,447,000 after purchasing an additional 540,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $44.73. 1,665,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,742,694. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $41.30 and a 12-month high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.89. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.33.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ 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.