Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 47,361 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,477 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 47,361 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in LKQ were worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in LKQ by 618.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 1.3 %

LKQ stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68.

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. Analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LKQ. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300. Company 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.