Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,232 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 43,541 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.20% of LKQ worth $20,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LKQ. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in LKQ by 3,683.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 274,577 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $11,420,000 after acquiring an additional 267,320 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in LKQ by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 65,548 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 14,573 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in LKQ during the third quarter valued at $634,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 2.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,317,672 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $54,802,000 after purchasing an additional 33,459 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in LKQ by 27,310.6% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 64,415 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,571,000 after buying an additional 64,180 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.88. The stock had a trading volume of 6,251,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,988,309. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.15. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.57 and a one 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.80.

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.