Caprock Group LLC Acquires New Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,683 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,650,234,000 after buying an additional 656,883 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 977,585 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,113,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $486,775,000 after buying an additional 111,124 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in LKQ by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $438,108,000 after buying an additional 712,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in LKQ by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,396,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $396,461,000 after buying an additional 103,659 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at $417,604.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.91 per share, for a total transaction of $99,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $41.04 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $41.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.57 and a 52 week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.