1,145,151 Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,145,151 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $45,733,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.44% of LKQ as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in LKQ by 451.1% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $53,000,000 after buying an additional 1,086,758 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 552.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $51,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,805 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 7.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 875,420 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings 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 worth $127,589,000 after purchasing an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in LKQ by 230.3% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,011,132 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $42,053,000 after buying an additional 705,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,195,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,044,558. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $38.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ's payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

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.