Thompson Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 162,017 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,349 shares during the period. LKQ makes up approximately 1.3% of Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Thompson Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of LKQ worth $8,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 4th quarter valued at $851,000. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $20,583,000. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,888,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in LKQ by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,929,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,154,000 after acquiring an additional 114,207 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Xavier Urbain sold 867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $38,581.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,467. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.32. The company had a trading volume of 776,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,878. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.31 and a 200 day moving average of $47.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $39.72 and a 52-week high of $59.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. LKQ’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

LKQ Profile

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.