Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 22,301 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,423 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,301 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $6,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 94.1% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 228.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $48.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.36. The stock has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $41.49 and a 12-month high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.50.

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.