LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc reduced its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 453,893 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 8,786 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.17% of LKQ worth $16,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in LKQ by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 56,365 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,071,000 after buying an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 264.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 84,235 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 61,145 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 149.1% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 63,365 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 37,928 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 15,127 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $783,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at $13,535,840.25. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,457,150 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.29. 622,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,270,016. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.