LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 97.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,914 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 395,533 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,839,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 582,953 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,136,000 after buying an additional 277,700 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 133.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 87,091 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 49,739 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $1,910,000. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $39.31 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.57 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares in the company, valued at $8,281,923.65. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,604.30. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.