Davis Selected Advisers Invests $27.28 Million in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers acquired a new stake in Vale S.A. worth approximately $27.28 million, purchasing 2,733,513 shares in the first quarter.
• Vale reported earnings of $0.50 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.34, despite revenues of $8.80 billion falling short of the forecast.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 740.0% with a payout ratio of 35.77%.

Davis Selected Advisers purchased a new position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,733,513 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $27,280,000. Davis Selected Advisers owned 0.06% of Vale as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Vale by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,163,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $418,338,000 after buying an additional 10,557,888 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Vale by 20.5% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,775,590 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vale by 49.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Vale by 38.0% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,932,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,005,000 after buying an additional 4,389,959 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Vale by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,865,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,767,000 after buying an additional 313,431 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE:VALE traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.22. 41,937,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,015,028. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Vale's payout ratio is 35.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VALE. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.84.

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.