Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 1,145,151 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,145,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,733,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the second quarter worth about $3,839,000. Addenda Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,419,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ in the second quarter worth $6,601,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 3,683.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 274,577 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,420,000 after buying an additional 267,320 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 165.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after buying an additional 28,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Up 0.4 %

LKQ stock opened at $39.29 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.57 and a 12 month high of $53.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued 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 during 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%. LKQ’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.78%.

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.