Mather Group LLC. Decreases Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Mather Group LLC. reduced its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,596 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 2.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in LKQ by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $496,772,000 after purchasing an additional 875,420 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in LKQ by 9.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 1.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 111,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in LKQ by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $438,108,000 after purchasing an additional 712,698 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, for a total transaction of $99,775.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other LKQ news, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $39.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.95. The company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.57 and a 12 month high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

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.