Choreo LLC Acquires 5,460 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Choreo LLC boosted its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 31.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,929 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,460 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,650,234,000 after buying an additional 656,883 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 9.5% during the 4th 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 1.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,113,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $486,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,124 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in LKQ by 9.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,108,000 after purchasing an additional 712,698 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in LKQ by 1.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,396,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $396,461,000 after purchasing an additional 103,659 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 12,600 shares of company stock valued at $500,870. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $39.69 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.57 and a 52 week high of $53.68. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $41.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period 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. Equities analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

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.