Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Makes New Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,248 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $43.64 on Friday. LKQ Co. has a 1-year low of $41.30 and a 1-year high of $59.38. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average of $48.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

LKQ Company 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.