Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Acquires 7,502 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 100,828 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $3,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LKQ. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in shares of LKQ by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in LKQ by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in LKQ by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,528,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.39. 2,112,039 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,267,621. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.15. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 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 the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. 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.