Sienna Gestion Lowers Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Sienna Gestion decreased its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 94.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,334 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 138,517 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in LKQ were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth about $606,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 91,213 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 34,774 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in LKQ by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,258,599 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $45,491,000 after acquiring an additional 113,448 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in LKQ by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 12,561 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $41.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $53.68.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. 0.45% 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.