Bank of America Corp DE Buys 11,905,247 Shares of Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• Bank of America more than doubled its Vale stake in the first quarter, acquiring 11.9 million additional shares to own 21.84 million shares valued at approximately $347.4 million, or 0.48% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Vale has an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $16.15, with recent actions ranging from JPMorgan’s higher $21 target to Morgan Stanley’s reduced $16.50 target and Zacks’ “strong sell” downgrade.
• Vale shares opened at $15.03, while the company’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting $0.36 earnings per share versus a $0.46 consensus and revenue of $10.24 billion versus $10.47 billion expected.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 119.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,905,247 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.48% of Vale worth $347,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VALE. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna grew its holdings in Vale by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 15,360.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.15.

Vale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $15.03 on Monday. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.84. The stock has a market cap of $68.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 0.47.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 19.99% and a net margin of 5.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world's largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

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