Lifeworks Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 6,239 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter worth about $57,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 1.5 %

LKQ opened at $43.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.69 and a 200-day moving average of $38.90.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

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.