Panagora Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 22.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 4,589 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in LKQ by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,650,234,000 after acquiring an additional 656,883 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 worth $540,398,000 after purchasing an additional 977,585 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in LKQ by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,251,102 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $537,690,000 after buying an additional 626,010 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 buying an additional 111,124 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in LKQ by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,108,000 after buying an additional 712,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LKQ. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. 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 target price of $60.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 three months, insiders acquired 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $41.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.63 and a 200-day moving average of $45.25. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.29. 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 $54.07.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. 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.