AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Vale by 195.3% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 64,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 42,565 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Vale by 274.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 119,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,605,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,550,000 after buying an additional 5,635,167 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Vale by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 147,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after buying an additional 18,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 229.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 26,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 18,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VALE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.26.

Vale Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $10.06 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.38 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The firm has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.90.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The company had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 7.5%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.