Robert W. Baird Cuts LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Price Target to $54.00

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) had its price target reduced by Robert W. Baird from $58.00 to $54.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $43.64 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $41.30 and a fifty-two week 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.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of LKQ 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,888,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,690,401 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $224,154,000 after acquiring an additional 114,207 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 8.3% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 339,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,824,000 after acquiring an additional 26,033 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of LKQ by 369.8% during 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 holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.