IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 1,698 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,086 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,888,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $224,154,000 after buying an additional 114,207 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 339,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,824,000 after buying an additional 26,033 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in LKQ by 369.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 456,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,832,000 after acquiring an additional 359,606 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LKQ shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.64. 2,390,793 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,825,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.72 and its 200-day moving average is $48.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $41.30 and a twelve month high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.96%.

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.