Stifel Financial Corp Sells 9,316 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,923 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 9,316 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in LKQ were worth $2,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,678,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 112.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in LKQ by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $309,609,000 after acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $559,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 126,729 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,657,000 after buying an additional 11,975 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.40. 2,279,611 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,669. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.09 and a 200 day moving average of $39.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $46.64.

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. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.78%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,873,750. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

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.