Headlands Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 832.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,042 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Vale by 18.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 803,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,766,000 after purchasing an additional 123,277 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the third quarter worth $168,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 10.7% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 16,710 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 259,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 7.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 237,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 17,089 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $12.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.28. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $16.08. The firm has a market cap of $55.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.3182 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

About Vale

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.