Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 336,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $12,356,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.13% of LKQ as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of LKQ by 618.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in LKQ by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,890 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Down 1.1%

LKQ traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,148,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,174. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $40.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month 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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. LKQ's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total value of $632,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale 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.