Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,859 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,340 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $38,581.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,467. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $44.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.80. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $41.30 and a 1 year high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

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.