California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 26,711 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,936 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 26,711 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of LKQ worth $16,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LKQ. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,178 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in LKQ by 8.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,975 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 29.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 29,373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 6,729 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 15.3% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 5,679 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 8,907 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $41.29 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $52.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total value of $632,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

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.