Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 87.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 694,175 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Vale were worth $1,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Vale by 423.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Vale by 44.7% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,702 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 2,502.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.90.

Vale Stock Down 1.0 %

VALE traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.80. 23,080,428 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,496,490. The stock has a market cap of $52.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.97. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $11.73 and a twelve month high of $16.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $12.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 9.7%. Vale's payout ratio is 64.48%.

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.