Empowered Funds LLC Buys 29,729 Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 234,223 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,729 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.09% of LKQ worth $9,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 3.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 351,538 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,953,000 after buying an additional 13,318 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in LKQ by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 332,305 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $17,748,000 after buying an additional 65,443 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.7% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 29,058 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $38.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ Co. has a 12-month low of $35.57 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.02.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s 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.