Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in Vale by 339.7% in Q4, buying an additional 88,733 shares to hold 114,855 shares worth about $1.497 million.
• Vale reported a Q1 earnings miss — $0.44 EPS vs. $0.46 expected and $9.26B revenue vs. $9.33B expected — while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $16.02 price target.
• Insiders increased their holdings: VP Sobrinho Sami Arap bought 12,990 shares and Parenti Grazielle Tallia bought 10,464 shares on April 1 at about $16.11 per share.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 339.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,855 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 88,733 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Vale were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 4.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,704 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 11,964 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter valued at approximately $123,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $16.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.97 and a 1-year high of $17.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.45.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%.The company had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VALE. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.02.

Insider Activity at Vale

In other news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap bought 12,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,268.90. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia bought 10,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,575.04. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Vale Company 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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