Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 1,813 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,938 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,813 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in LKQ by 618.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth $81,000. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.69 and its 200-day moving average is $38.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.80%.

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.