LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lessened its position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 864,075 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 346,586 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.33% of LKQ worth $36,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in LKQ by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 299.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 56.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,116 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 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. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LKQ Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.01. 1,624,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,308,837. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.47. LKQ Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.98.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

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.