Amundi Buys 100,000 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Amundi boosted its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,407,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Vale were worth $11,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 215.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Vale by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $9.83 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.32 and its 200 day moving average is $9.92. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.82, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. Research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.3758 dividend. This represents a yield of 7.5%. 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. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.26.

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.