Andrew C. Clarke Acquires 7,600 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Stock

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.11. 1,580,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,794,987. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.57 and a 52-week high of $55.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.53.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.80.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 33,430 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after acquiring an additional 10,213 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,153 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,923,000 after acquiring an additional 8,045 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,790 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regatta Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 17,908 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LKQ

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.