Homestead Advisers Corp Purchases 25,900 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Homestead Advisers Corp lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 674,300 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned 0.26% of LKQ worth $24,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in LKQ by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 48,556 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 9,434 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in LKQ by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 29,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 5,642 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $5,812,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of LKQ by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,380,086 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,718,000 after buying an additional 64,639 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $40.99 on Thursday. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.02 and its 200-day moving average is $38.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Equities analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

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.