Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 52.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,352 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LKQ. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in LKQ by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,292 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 13,595 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 7,288 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in LKQ by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 54,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in LKQ by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 268,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after purchasing an additional 99,229 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LKQ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $37.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.50. LKQ Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. LKQ had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.