AIA Group Ltd Acquires 6,516 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 103.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,813 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 6,516 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in LKQ were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in LKQ by 81.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.50.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $49.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.22 and its 200 day moving average is $48.36. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $41.49 and a 52 week high of $59.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 34.29%.

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.