Staley Capital Advisers Inc. Trims Stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

Staley Capital Advisers Inc. lowered its position in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,301,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 453,047 shares during the period. Liquidity Services accounts for about 1.9% of Staley Capital Advisers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Staley Capital Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Liquidity Services were worth $42,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $488,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $463,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 9.5% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 881,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 76,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 202,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LQDT shares. StockNews.com lowered Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Liquidity Services Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of LQDT opened at $29.50 on Tuesday. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.79 and a twelve month high of $39.72. The company has a market capitalization of $915.65 million, a P/E ratio of 39.33 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.04 and a 200 day moving average of $27.81.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 6.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.29, for a total transaction of $813,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,229 shares in the company, valued at $601,675.41. This represents a 57.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 103,660 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,585.20. This represents a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 170,326 shares of company stock worth $5,710,365. 28.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.