Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 3,073 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,981 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 3,073 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $2,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at about $159,324,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in LKQ by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,507,873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351,389 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in LKQ by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $540,398,000 after purchasing an additional 977,585 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,821,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,585,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LKQ. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.80.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $42.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,140,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,436. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.53. 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 company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a twelve month low of $35.57 and a twelve month high of $54.07.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other LKQ news, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, for a total transaction of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 13,084 shares of company stock valued at $521,096. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.