LPL Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - Free Report) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 673,266 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 161,994 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.14% of Cleveland-Cliffs worth $6,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,382,769 shares of the mining company's stock worth $69,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,247 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 105.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 262,771 shares of the mining company's stock worth $3,429,000 after acquiring an additional 134,939 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,999,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,432,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Cleveland-Cliffs by 987.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 207,000 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 187,957 shares during the period. 67.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Trading Down 8.4 %

Shares of CLF stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.28. 6,393,737 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,988,874. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.17 and a fifty-two week high of $22.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 1.93.

Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The mining company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.46 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs had a negative return on equity of 0.59% and a negative net margin of 2.31%. Equities analysts expect that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John T. Baldwin bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $34,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 133,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,159,074.90. This represents a 3.10 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Keith Koci bought 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.81 per share, for a total transaction of $102,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 543,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,874,964.75. This trade represents a 1.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 23,500 shares of company stock valued at $243,095. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CLF. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Cleveland-Cliffs from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cleveland-Cliffs in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Glj Research lowered their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $14.54 to $12.90 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Cleveland-Cliffs from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.24.

Cleveland-Cliffs Company Profile

Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest flat-rolled steel company and the largest iron ore pellet producer in North America. The company is vertically integrated from mining through iron making, steelmaking, rolling, finishing and downstream with hot and cold stamping of steel parts and components. The company was formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc and changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc in August 2017.