KBC Group NV Grows Holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 33.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 718,305 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 181,242 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.28% of LKQ worth $28,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Millennium Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,046,805 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in LKQ by 7.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 875,420 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in LKQ by 39.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 230.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 705,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of LKQ traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,641. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.00. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $35.57 and a 1-year high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. LKQ's dividend 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.