Pzena Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,005,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,790,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 104.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 299.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in LKQ by 70.9% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in LKQ by 30.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,847 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $37.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.56. LKQ Corporation has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $46.64. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.