Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 395,306 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,141 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 395,306 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in LKQ were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 11.6% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 30,046 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 3,128 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 33.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 718,305 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,674,000 after buying an additional 181,242 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 25.1% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 398,312 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,901,000 after buying an additional 79,830 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,552,916 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,992,000 after buying an additional 18,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ during the third quarter worth approximately $826,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $38.69 on Friday. 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 $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.29. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $38.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.06.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. 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 3.10%. LKQ’s payout ratio is presently 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.