Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 716.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,511 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 182,099 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of LKQ worth $7,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $241,643,000 after buying an additional 48,813 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in LKQ by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,571,136 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $204,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,481 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 25.2% in the 4th 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 period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,548,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,339,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $40.38 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.98.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 316,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,019,452.70. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,457,150 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

LKQ Company 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.

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