Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 20,000 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of LKQ by 31.2% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at $14,225,233.20. The trade was a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,890,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,758. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.