LKQ Corporation $LKQ Shares Purchased by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in LKQ Corporation by 8.9%, owning approximately 1.17 million shares valued at about $49.6 million as of the first quarter.
• Multiple brokerages have provided mixed ratings on LKQ, with Barrington Research maintaining an "outperform" rating and a target price of $60, while others have lowered their price targets.
• LKQ announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 14th.

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,166,788 shares of the auto parts company's stock after buying an additional 95,439 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.45% of LKQ worth $49,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 39,650 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ during the 1st quarter valued at $1,670,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 72.9% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 113,585 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $4,832,000 after acquiring an additional 47,905 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 139,703 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $5,943,000 after acquiring an additional 17,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 14,498 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.40.

LKQ Stock Up 1.1%

LKQ traded up $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,308,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,325,795. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.09 and a 200-day moving average of $38.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.69. LKQ Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.92 and a 1-year high of $44.82.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.62 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. LKQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.96%.

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.