National Bank of Canada FI Buys 159,551 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 109.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 305,021 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,551 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.11% of LKQ worth $14,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in LKQ by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 777 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,470 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in LKQ by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in LKQ by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 26,650 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. 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. cut their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $43.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $41.30 and a 52-week high of $59.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.33.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

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.