Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 407,593 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 40.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,418,725 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 407,593 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of LKQ worth $56,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in LKQ by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in LKQ by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,211 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $36.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,563,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,589. 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 current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.24 and a 200 day moving average of $40.04.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ presently 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.