9,248 Shares in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,888,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,154,000 after purchasing an additional 114,207 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 8.3% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 339,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,824,000 after purchasing an additional 26,033 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in LKQ by 369.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 456,839 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,832,000 after purchasing an additional 359,606 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 7.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $43.64 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 52-week low of $41.30 and a 52-week high of $59.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.16.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LKQ. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

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.