AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 68.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,817 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,324 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of LKQ worth $4,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of LKQ by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,569,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,175. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.19.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. LKQ's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 316,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Company 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.