Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,971 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $519,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,356,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,037,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, Ananym Capital Management LP acquired a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,910,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 316,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,457,150 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,871,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,218. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $46.64.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

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.