Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,848,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 275,476 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Vale were worth $16,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VALE. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Vale by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 3,092.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Vale by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Up 1.4 %

Vale stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.37. The stock had a trading volume of 19,990,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,586,964. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.59.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. Research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale's payout ratio is presently 54.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.13.

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.