MQS Management LLC Buys New Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,447 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $20,583,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LKQ during the second quarter worth approximately $3,839,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in LKQ by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,929,000 after purchasing an additional 227,314 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 91.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 582,953 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,136,000 after purchasing an additional 277,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew J. Mckay purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 94,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,763,132.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $40.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.25. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.57 and a 52 week high of $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

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.