Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Position Lessened by Cantor Fitzgerald L. P.

Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lessened its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 62.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 177,154 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P.'s holdings in Vale were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vale by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vale by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:VALE traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.37. The stock had a trading volume of 19,611,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,646,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.53.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.13.

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.