Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $2.41 Million Stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,975 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of Liquidity Services worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDT. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Liquidity Services by 9.5% in the 3rd 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. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 852,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,433,000 after buying an additional 13,947 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 515,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,757,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 15.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 503,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,060,000 after acquiring an additional 68,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 1.3% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 367,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,374,000 after buying an additional 4,838 shares during the period. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LQDT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Liquidity Services Trading Up 1.0 %

LQDT opened at $32.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $992.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.25 and a beta of 1.42. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.99 and a 1-year high of $36.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 26,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 19,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,675.41. This represents a 57.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total value of $1,661,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 103,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,443,585.20. The trade was a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,668 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,558. 29.77% of the stock is owned by 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.