Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Purchases 248,391 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 113.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 467,937 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 248,391 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Vale were worth $4,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Vale by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Vale by 3,092.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vale by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VALE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.13.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE traded down $0.13 on Thursday, reaching $9.19. 9,404,184 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,524,941. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $41.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.61. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. On average, analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a yield of 7.5%. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 54.35%.

Vale Company 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.