Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 4,388 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,388 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 228.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 777 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $38,581.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,467. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.27. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $39.72 and a one year high of $59.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LKQ. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

About LKQ

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.