15,612 Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,612 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in 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 in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,457,150. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.68. 764,903 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,271,021. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day moving average is $39.51. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $46.64. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.98.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

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.