LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Position Decreased by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,599,277 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 125,912 shares during the period. LKQ comprises approximately 1.9% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $143,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,839,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in LKQ by 91.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 582,953 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,136,000 after acquiring an additional 277,700 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 133.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 87,091 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 49,739 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth $6,419,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth $6,601,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LKQ shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $37.56 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.37. The firm has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.