Sepio Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Sepio Capital LP decreased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,398 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,366 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in LKQ were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 777 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,470 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 26,650 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other LKQ news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $38,581.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,467. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, hitting $42.92. 1,671,605 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,930,871. The firm has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.33. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $41.30 and a 52 week high of $59.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.72. 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 the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

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.