Distillate Capital Partners LLC Buys 347,657 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 125,962.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 347,933 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 347,657 shares during the quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.13% of LKQ worth $14,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $298,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 42,218 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 564,319 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $26,969,000 after buying an additional 11,911 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,829 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in LKQ by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 63,944 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 7,419 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LKQ. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $40.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.15 and its 200 day moving average is $44.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.57 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68.

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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.