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

KBC Group NV lowered its holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the 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 approximately 0.33% of LKQ worth $36,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in LKQ by 104.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 299.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 56.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 71.3% in the 4th 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. bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,123,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,305,201. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.95. LKQ Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.45.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.