SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 9,040 Shares of LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) by 237.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,844 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,040 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in LKQ were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKQ. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,528,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,436 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 6,779 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,368 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LKQ. Wall Street Zen cut LKQ from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKQ traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.65. 2,163,413 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,300,273. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.98. LKQ Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $46.64.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ Corporation will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ's dividend payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $632,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 321,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,535,840.25. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,708 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.99 per share, with a total value of $100,168.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 280,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,385,941.23. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.