Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,094 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,156 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its stake in LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 103,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,118,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $43.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.92. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

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.