Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC has reduced its holdings in LKQ Corporation by 23.1%, now owning approximately $26.8 million worth of the company's stock.
• LKQ recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share for the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.93, with revenues of $3.64 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.73%, scheduled to be paid on August 28th.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 629,962 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 188,830 shares during the period. LKQ makes up approximately 2.0% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of LKQ worth $26,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 104.8% in the 1st 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. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LKQ. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.40.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.40. 885,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,226. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. LKQ Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.06 and a fifty-two week high of $44.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.48.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.06). LKQ had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.96%.

Insider Activity

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 316,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,019,452.70. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.