American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 961,923 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 102,038 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $40,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth $263,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth $298,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter worth $159,324,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKQ has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

LKQ Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $40.84 on Wednesday. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.57 and a 12 month high of $53.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.37 and a 200-day moving average of $44.46. 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 has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

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