Snyder Capital Management L P Acquires 152,094 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Snyder Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,123,558 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 152,094 shares during the period. Snyder Capital Management L P owned 0.43% of LKQ worth $41,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,678,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,575 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $559,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 11,975 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now directly owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $14,975,186.92. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,864,350. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LKQ shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $37.73. The company had a trading volume of 847,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,263,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $46.64. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.16.

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. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. LKQ's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.