Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Acquired by Mondrian Investment Partners LTD

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,754,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,381,475 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Vale were worth $109,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VALE. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 51.6% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 16,563 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 42.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 194,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 57,967 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 62.9% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,443 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 50.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 589,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,885,000 after purchasing an additional 197,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VALE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.26.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $9.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.92. 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 twelve month low of $8.38 and a twelve month high of $13.14.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Vale 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.