Citigroup Inc. Acquires 605,082 Shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 140.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,034,852 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 605,082 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.40% of LKQ worth $44,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in LKQ by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 977 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 299.6% in the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in LKQ by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,707 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ opened at $29.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.92. LKQ Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.92 and a 52-week high of $44.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.32 and its 200-day moving average is $39.02.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.96%.

LKQ 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.