Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 676,492 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 2,938 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of LKQ worth $24,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at about $45,733,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 451.1% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at $19,889,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in LKQ by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,492,000 after purchasing an additional 492,356 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LKQ. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.40.

LKQ Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $37.69 on Wednesday. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.79.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.