Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys New Position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,554 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $91,678,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 19,298 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,698 shares during the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $559,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 11,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 316,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, hitting $38.63. 418,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,299,344. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.95. LKQ Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $46.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.27 and a 200 day moving average of $39.51.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

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.