Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Position in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 651.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 798,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 692,390 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 2.59% of Liquidity Services worth $25,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LQDT. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 257.6% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LQDT shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Liquidity Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDT opened at $25.26 on Thursday. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.78 and a 1 year high of $39.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.42. The company has a market cap of $784.05 million, a P/E ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 1.31.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The firm had revenue of $116.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.20 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Beatriz V. Infante sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $176,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 82,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,934,526.40. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.55, for a total value of $315,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 184,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,822,931.10. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,038 shares of company stock valued at $3,669,775. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Liquidity Services Profile

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.