First Trust Advisors LP Sells 149,827 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 605,760 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 149,827 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of LKQ worth $22,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $309,609,000 after buying an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $241,643,000 after buying an additional 48,813 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,571,136 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $204,739,000 after buying an additional 1,171,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,395,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,572,676 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $94,546,000 after buying an additional 84,244 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 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, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $37.65. 2,383,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,266,700. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.09. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors 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 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

LKQ 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.