Banco Santander S.A. Sells 140,943 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. sold 140,943 shares of Vale S.A., reducing its stake by 18.7%, leaving them with 612,776 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million.
• Several hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in Vale, with Golden State Wealth Management LLC notably increasing its stake by 193% in the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Vale include a mix of "hold" and "buy" recommendations, with a consensus target price of $11.73 amid recent increases in target prices from various firms.

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 612,776 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 140,943 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Vale were worth $6,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter worth about $228,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 193.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 38.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,522 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,261 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 44.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VALE shares. CICC Research started coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.73.

Vale Trading Up 1.8%

VALE opened at $9.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.56. Vale S.A. has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. Vale had a return on equity of 18.58% and a net margin of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.54 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

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.

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