LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

LKQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average is $39.41.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,873,750. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,774 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

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.

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