261,435 Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Purchased by Twin Tree Management LP

Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 261,435 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,608,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,977,708 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $478,150,000 after acquiring an additional 33,212 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in LKQ by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $457,051,000 after purchasing an additional 134,176 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of LKQ by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,020,689 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $240,346,000 after purchasing an additional 411,390 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.24 on Tuesday. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.41 and its 200-day moving average is $38.92. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

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.