Putnam Investments LLC Has $19.60 Million Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,354 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 13,463 shares during the quarter. Putnam Investments LLC owned 0.13% of LKQ worth $19,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 36,922 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 8,002 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 73,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 13,792 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 35,882 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 44,028 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 32,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.74, for a total transaction of $1,655,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 495,004 shares in the company, valued at $25,611,506.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LKQ. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $50.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.13. The company has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 1.35. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $46.20 and a 52-week high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The auto parts company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 7.80%. LKQ’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 16th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

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 automotive glass products, such as windshields; 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.