The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Position in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,055 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,634 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of LKQ worth $8,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in LKQ by 165.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 28,623 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ by 135.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 27,170 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 15,621 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in LKQ by 18.8% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 49,974 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after buying an additional 7,914 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in LKQ by 2.5% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,543 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in LKQ by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,710 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $39.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.52. 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 twelve month low of $35.57 and a twelve month high of $53.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 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 expect that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 EPS 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 3.04%. The ex-dividend date 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.