Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Purchases 261,406 Shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 59.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 704,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 261,406 shares during the period. LKQ comprises 1.8% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.27% of LKQ worth $29,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,548,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $160,339,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth $91,678,000. Finally, Eminence Capital LP bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $68,944,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

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 shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $190,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 316,135 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of LKQ traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.38. 1,712,151 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,386,993. The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.57. LKQ Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.