Northern Trust Corp Acquires 610,457 Shares of Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Vale S.A. by 15.2% in the first quarter, now owning nearly 4.63 million shares valued at approximately $46.2 million.
• Vale's quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $0.50 EPS, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.34, although it fell short on revenue expectations with $8.80 billion compared to a consensus of $9.54 billion.
• Vale recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417 per share, with a high dividend yield of 740.0%, and the ex-dividend date set for August 13th.

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,628,829 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 610,457 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.10% of Vale worth $46,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter valued at about $228,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VALE shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 target price (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. 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. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.84.

Vale Trading Up 0.1%

VALE stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.27. 15,104,382 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,588,130. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.92 and a 200-day moving average of $9.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.79.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid 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 is currently 58.54%.

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.