Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Position Lessened by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank significantly reduced its stake in Vale S.A. by 67.5%, selling 68,682 shares and leaving it with 33,026 shares valued at approximately $330,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Vale, with Price T Rowe Associates growing its stake by 20.5% and Lazard Asset Management increasing by 49.3% in the fourth quarter.
• Vale's recent earnings showed an EPS of $0.50, exceeding estimates, but the company also announced a semi-annual dividend with a yield of 740.0%, representing a payout ratio of 35.77%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 67.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 68,682 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Vale were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,923 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Vale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,073,716 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,524,000 after purchasing an additional 99,562 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Vale by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Vale by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 436,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,870,000 after purchasing an additional 135,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC raised its position in Vale by 171.7% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 45,931 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 110,031 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VALE. Barclays raised 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. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. CICC Research initiated coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Vale from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.84.

Vale Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.22. 41,937,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,727,632. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $12.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 0.74.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. 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 35.77%.

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.