Ninety One UK Ltd Lowers Stake in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 722,183 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 110,832 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.28% of LKQ worth $30,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LKQ. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 299.6% in 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. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in LKQ by 30.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 56.2% in 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. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 280,777 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.60. 2,159,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,305,692. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average is $39.52. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.