Bfsg LLC Sells 284 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Bfsg LLC lessened its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,913 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,017 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in LKQ by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,059,686 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,642,000 after acquiring an additional 15,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,641,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.30. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $41.30 and a 12-month high of $59.38. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 34.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

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.