Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Stake in Vale S.A. $VALE

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,204,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 978,972 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.14% of Vale worth $98,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vale by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its position in Vale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 5.4% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $14.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.82. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.46.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vale from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.15.

Vale Profile

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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