M&T Bank Corp Increases Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,559 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,245,966 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,497,478,000 after acquiring an additional 382,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in LKQ by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,330,168 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $511,447,000 after buying an additional 540,259 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in LKQ by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after buying an additional 1,195,122 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of LKQ by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,002,807 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $430,244,000 after acquiring an additional 383,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,292,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $349,407,000 after acquiring an additional 143,632 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Down 1.1 %

LKQ opened at $43.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.48 and a 200-day moving average of $47.81. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $41.30 and a 1-year high of $59.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.33.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.