Vise Technologies Inc. Buys Shares of 7,644 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,644 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LKQ. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in LKQ by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in LKQ by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,210,661 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $44,492,000 after acquiring an additional 492,356 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in LKQ by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 22,575 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in LKQ by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 100,887 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 35,670 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LKQ traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.58. The company had a trading volume of 5,871,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,728. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The company's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 316,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,019,452.70. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,457,150. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ 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.