Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 27,600 LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,600 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LKQ. Addenda Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,419,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the second quarter worth about $6,601,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 3,683.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised 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 during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 65,548 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after acquiring an additional 14,573 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $38.89 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.42.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company 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%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LKQ. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.80.

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.