Korea Investment CORP Sells 17,400 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,678 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 17,400 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 12,853 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 813,339 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,890,000 after purchasing an additional 293,872 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 11,975 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp lifted its holdings in LKQ by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 308,803 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $11,348,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,048,550. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $42.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.00. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.15.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.