B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New $1.84 Million Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 46,087 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,840,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 46.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,678 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 91.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,003,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $53,584,000 after purchasing an additional 47,122 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 869.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 454,010 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $24,248,000 after purchasing an additional 407,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $346,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 1.6 %

LKQ traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.50. 1,601,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,796. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.86. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. LKQ's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LKQ shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.