EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 91,086 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 4,524 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $3,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake 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 period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its position in LKQ by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $43.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.92. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors 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 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock 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 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

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.