Swedbank AB Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Swedbank AB bought a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 384,858 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,555,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in LKQ by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 777 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 5.3% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ by 4.6% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.80.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 13,084 shares of company stock valued at $521,096. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,664,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,134,208. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $55.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results 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 during 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, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

LKQ Company 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.