Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Shares in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 42,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 10,821 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 26,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 12,801 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Vale by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 33,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 5,189 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Vale by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 793,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,042,000 after purchasing an additional 308,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $9.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.98. The firm has a market cap of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.68.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.03 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.3758 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.26.

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.