LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Bought by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,826 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,300 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in LKQ were worth $4,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of LKQ by 336.4% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,432,724 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $52,653,000 after buying an additional 1,104,431 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,636,997 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $60,160,000 after purchasing an additional 490,502 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 291,479 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $10,712,000 after buying an additional 47,470 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,944,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total transaction of $416,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,975,186.92. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought 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 represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.27. The company had a trading volume of 212,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,219. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.40. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

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.