Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $472,000 Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,831 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in LKQ were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $851,000. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new stake in LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $20,583,000. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $5,888,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,929,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in LKQ by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $224,154,000 after acquiring an additional 114,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.60. The company had a trading volume of 679,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,733. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.57 and a twelve month high of $55.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.53. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $38,581.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,467. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.