Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Sold by Oaktree Capital Management LP

Oaktree Capital Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,192,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,011,461 shares during the quarter. Vale makes up about 1.2% of Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Oaktree Capital Management LP’s holdings in Vale were worth $63,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Vale by 328.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,349,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,891,000 after purchasing an additional 13,298,912 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,300,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Vale by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,660,933 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,635,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Vale by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,721,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,226,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $10.06 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a one year low of $8.38 and a one year high of $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.61 and a 200-day moving average of $9.90.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.