Sound Income Strategies LLC Acquires 23,495 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,096 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,495 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $3,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 552.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,805 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of LKQ by 9.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after purchasing an additional 875,420 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 39.8% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after buying an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in LKQ by 9.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

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

LKQ Trading Up 1.9 %

LKQ stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,806,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,980. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $35.57 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.17 and a 200 day moving average of $42.88.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. LKQ’s payout ratio 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.