LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) CEO Purchases $100,168.92 in Stock

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $37.41 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.18. The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LKQ. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in LKQ by 104.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 299.6% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 56.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LKQ. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

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.