Ascent Group LLC Acquires 39,791 Shares of Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Vale S.A. by 197.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 39,791 shares to reach a total of 59,968 shares valued at approximately $598,000.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for Vale, with JPMorgan cutting its price target to $13.50 while UBS raised theirs to <$strong>$10.00, reflecting varied outlooks on the company's stock performance.
• Vale recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417 per share with a yield of 740.0%, despite a payout ratio of 59.35%.

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 197.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,791 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $371,778,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its position in shares of Vale by 165.9% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 31,257,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $311,955,000 after buying an additional 19,500,437 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vale by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,932,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,005,000 after buying an additional 4,389,959 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vale by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,523,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $115,004,000 after buying an additional 1,557,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Vale by 193.7% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 5,100,597 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $45,242,000 after buying an additional 3,363,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VALE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.71.

Vale Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:VALE opened at $10.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.79. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $12.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $10.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.70.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. Analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.3417 per share. This represents a yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Vale's payout ratio is currently 59.35%.

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.

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