Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in Vale S.A. by 31.3%, selling 146,611 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 321,326 shares valued at $3,169,000.
• Research analysts have varied opinions on Vale, with price targets ranging from $10.00 to $13.00, and the stock currently holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Vale recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417, with a high implied dividend yield of 740%, despite cutting the dividend payout ratio to 58.54%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,326 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 146,611 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Vale were worth $3,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $371,778,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,773,000 after buying an additional 6,023,144 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Vale by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,775,590 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Vale by 6,547.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,782,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,710,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $39,775,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:VALE traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,700,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,869,020. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.86 and a 200-day moving average of $9.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.74. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week 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.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale's payout ratio is 58.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 target price (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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 upped their price target on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. CICC Research began coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.84.

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.