LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $35.56 and last traded at $36.07, with a volume of 234138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.24.

Specifically, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,418,725 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $56,631,000 after buying an additional 407,593 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 519,232 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $20,401,000 after acquiring an additional 43,541 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in LKQ by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 15,235 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,995 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.