First Trust Advisors LP Has $22.26 Million Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 605,760 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 149,827 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of LKQ worth $22,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at $4,994,000. PEAK6 LLC bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $680,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in LKQ by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought 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. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $38.22. The company had a trading volume of 471,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,414. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.15.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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 for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

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.