Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC decreased its holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 38.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,139 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 40,271 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $91,678,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 1st quarter valued at about $321,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,618,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,851 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 19,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $190,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 316,135 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,452.70. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LKQ. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $37.45 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.95. LKQ Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. LKQ’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

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.