Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 90.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 640,066 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 304,142 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $23,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $160,339,000. Engine Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of LKQ by 263.1% during the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,396,614 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $51,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,000 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in LKQ by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 113,826 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,183,000 after buying an additional 32,300 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 336.4% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,432,724 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $52,653,000 after buying an additional 1,104,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in LKQ by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,636,997 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $60,160,000 after buying an additional 490,502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

LKQ Stock Up 0.2 %

LKQ opened at $40.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

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.