Private Management Group Inc. Purchases 467,962 Shares of LKQ Corporation $LKQ

Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,032,114 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 467,962 shares during the quarter. LKQ comprises approximately 1.2% of Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $46,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in LKQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,015,096,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $398,696,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,795,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,343,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,221,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Sue Gove bought 9,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.53 per share, for a total transaction of $201,091.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,880.29. This trade represents a 89.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael Scott Powell bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.15 per share, with a total value of $191,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,111.70. The trade was a 90.93% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 41,595 shares of company stock worth $792,621. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LKQ Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of LKQ opened at $20.41 on Tuesday. LKQ Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $16.85 and a fifty-two week high of $37.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.75.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The auto parts company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. LKQ’s payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Roth Capital lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $35.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on LKQ from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered LKQ from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Stephens reduced their target price on LKQ from $39.00 to $36.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barrington Research cut LKQ from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.07.

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ) distributes replacement parts, components and related products for vehicle repair and maintenance. Its offerings include recycled and refurbished parts, aftermarket products and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, serving collision repair shops, mechanical repair businesses and other customers.

The company also supplies specialty automotive parts and accessories, including products for vehicle customization and performance. LKQ operates across North America and Europe, as well as in Taiwan.

Founded in 1998, LKQ grew through acquisitions and expanded from its North American roots into international markets.