Isthmus Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Isthmus Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,909 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 65,946 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of LKQ worth $8,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in 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 buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at $57,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $43.38 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.90. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.68. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LKQ 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.