Man Group plc Reduces Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

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

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of LKQ by 107.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of LKQ by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in LKQ by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,890 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

LKQ Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,646,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,273,446. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $46.64. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $40.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. LKQ's payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,873,750 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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.