University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Takes $3.04 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 82,642 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $3,037,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,464 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,434 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 111,460 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,096,000 after buying an additional 13,364 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 290,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $10,658,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of LKQ traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.37. The company had a trading volume of 565,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,272,496. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.98. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $40.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.50.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,457,150 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Company 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.