LPL Financial LLC Purchases 115,979 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its stake in Vale S.A. by 15.8%, acquiring an additional 115,979 shares, bringing its total holdings to 851,424 shares worth approximately $8.5 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Vale's stock, with target prices ranging from $10.00 to $13.00, and an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $11.84.
• Vale S.A. is set to pay a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417 per share, with an ex-dividend date on August 13th, reflecting a dividend yield of 740.0%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 851,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,979 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $8,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,073,716 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,524,000 after buying an additional 99,562 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 436,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,870,000 after buying an additional 135,705 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at about $862,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,452,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $10.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day moving average of $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $12.05.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3417 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.54%.

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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