First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 1,460 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,727 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in LKQ in the third quarter worth $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in LKQ by 228.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in LKQ during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $44.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.83. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $41.30 and a twelve month high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.60.

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.