Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 4,388 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,388 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $851,000. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,583,000. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,888,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in LKQ by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,929,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in LKQ by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,154,000 after buying an additional 114,207 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $38,581.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,606 shares in the company, valued at $694,467. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $41.66 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.27. The company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $39.72 and a 12 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 the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 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.