Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 598,442 Shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,933,776 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 598,442 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.98% of LKQ worth $1,315,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in LKQ by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,231,940 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $192,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,001 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $165,548,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $160,339,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,685,613 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $98,696,000 after buying an additional 223,510 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,566,608 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $94,323,000 after buying an additional 160,298 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.40.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,051,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,584,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. LKQ Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.92 and a 52 week high of $44.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.92.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.06). LKQ had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. LKQ's payout ratio is currently 43.96%.

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.