Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL) by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 62,482 shares of the mineral exploration company’s stock after selling 283,179 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Piedmont Lithium were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLL. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Piedmont Lithium by 2,095.4% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,854 shares of the mineral exploration company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Piedmont Lithium by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the mineral exploration company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Piedmont Lithium in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Lithium during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Piedmont Lithium in the third quarter worth $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.23% of the company’s stock.

Piedmont Lithium Trading Up 7.3 %

Piedmont Lithium stock opened at $9.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.33. Piedmont Lithium Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.57 and a 1 year high of $26.50. The stock has a market cap of $190.30 million, a P/E ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

Insider Activity

In other Piedmont Lithium news, CEO Keith D. Phillips sold 41,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total transaction of $515,382.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,100,282.96. This trade represents a 19.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PLL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Piedmont Lithium from $9.50 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Roth Mkm lowered Piedmont Lithium from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $8.00 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Piedmont Lithium in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie upgraded shares of Piedmont Lithium from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Roth Capital cut shares of Piedmont Lithium from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Piedmont Lithium currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.21.

About Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium Inc, a development stage company, engages in the exploration and development of resource projects in the United States. The company primarily holds a 100% interest in the Carolina Lithium Project that include an area of approximately 3,706 acres located within the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt situated to the northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States.