Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,715 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,207 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in LKQ were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in LKQ by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in LKQ by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $10,385,941.23. The trade was a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,864,350. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.20 on Monday, hitting $37.21. 2,813,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,266,234. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $46.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.18.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.