Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 15,745 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,250 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,745 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,046,805 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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 valued at $496,772,000 after acquiring an additional 875,420 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in LKQ by 39.8% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $127,589,000 after purchasing an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 9.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $438,108,000 after purchasing an additional 712,698 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 230.3% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,011,132 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $42,053,000 after acquiring an additional 705,040 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.72. 2,048,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,936,010. The stock has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.80.

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.