LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,372 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in LKQ were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 5.3% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 29.8% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,211 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 33.5% during the third 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 period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in LKQ by 0.6% in the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 50,495 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.09. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s payout ratio 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.