Twin Capital Management Inc. Acquires 20,367 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 199.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,568 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 20,367 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 4.5% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 9,977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,470 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 94.1% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $48.58 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $41.49 and a 52 week high of $59.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.36.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.29%.

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.