LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 25.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 18,550 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 65,452 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at $556,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in LKQ by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,255 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 7,611 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 18,052 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 4,518 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $37.12 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.46. The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Corporation has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $46.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LKQ. Wall Street Zen lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.

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