Voloridge Investment Management LLC Acquires 484,541 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 131.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 853,428 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 484,541 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of LKQ worth $31,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.77. 378,254 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,272,911. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $46.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.49.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. LKQ's payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27% 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 valued at $1,457,150 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.