Quest Partners LLC Raises Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 479,800.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,799 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in LKQ were worth $192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in LKQ by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in LKQ by 29.8% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LKQ. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $39.13 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.70 and its 200 day moving average is $40.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. LKQ Co. has a 52 week low of $35.57 and a 52 week high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is 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.