Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.84 Million Position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,756 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 15,917 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $2,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LKQ. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in LKQ by 104.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 299.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of LKQ by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,847 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $37.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,952,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,315,756. LKQ Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $46.64. The firm has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LKQ. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.