LKQ Corporation $LKQ Stock Sold by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors cut its LKQ stake by 51.2% in the third quarter, selling 292,164 shares and ending the period with 278,333 shares worth about $6.35 million.
• LKQ reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, below the $0.58 consensus, while revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $3.32 billion.
• Two directors bought LKQ shares in late October and early November, while analysts’ average rating was “Hold” with an average price target of $26.07.

Alps Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 51.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,333 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 292,164 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.11% of LKQ worth $6,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter worth $1,015,096,000. Foundation Resource Management Inc. increased its stake in LKQ by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 817,292 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $18,659,000 after buying an additional 213,868 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in LKQ during the second quarter valued at about $2,070,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in LKQ during the second quarter valued at about $3,438,000. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in LKQ by 18.5% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,564,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $41,184,000 after acquiring an additional 244,141 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $20.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.89. LKQ Corporation has a one year low of $16.85 and a one year high of $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.87.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.08). LKQ had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that LKQ Corporation will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. LKQ's payout ratio is 120.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LKQ. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 target price on LKQ in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barrington Research cut LKQ from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut LKQ from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of LKQ from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Michael Scott Powell bought 10,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.15 per share, with a total value of $191,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,998 shares in the company, valued at $402,111.70. The trade was a 90.93% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew Clarke bought 21,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.35 per share, with a total value of $400,030.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 56,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,043,197.50. The trade was a 62.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 41,595 shares of company stock worth $792,621 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

LKQ Profile

LKQ Corporation NASDAQ: LKQ distributes replacement parts, components and related products for vehicle repair and maintenance. Its offerings include recycled and refurbished parts, aftermarket products and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, serving collision repair shops, mechanical repair businesses and other customers.

The company also supplies specialty automotive parts and accessories, including products for vehicle customization and performance. LKQ operates across North America and Europe, as well as in Taiwan.

Founded in 1998, LKQ grew through acquisitions and expanded from its North American roots into international markets.

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