Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Acquired by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 63.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,721 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,010 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Vale were worth $796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Vale by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 10.9% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Vale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Trading Down 2.7%

Vale stock opened at $9.05 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $9.45 and its 200-day moving average is $9.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The company has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.04.

About Vale

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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