Creative Planning Buys 8,442 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 78.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,175 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,442 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in LKQ were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the second quarter worth $3,839,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in LKQ in the first quarter valued at $1,468,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in LKQ by 91.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 582,953 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,136,000 after purchasing an additional 277,700 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in LKQ by 133.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 87,091 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 49,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the first quarter valued at $1,910,000. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In related news, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at $417,604.30. This represents a 200.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other LKQ news, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. This trade represents a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew J. Mckay acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.75 per share, with a total value of $99,375.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,763,132.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $39.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day moving average of $42.95. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68. The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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 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.