Amalgamated Bank Buys 14,164 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,588 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 14,164 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in LKQ were worth $3,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in LKQ by 2.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in LKQ by 1.2% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 111,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in LKQ by 9.5% in the 1st 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,763,132.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other LKQ news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,763,132.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LKQ Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $40.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.15. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 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.