Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 76.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 611,794 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Vale were worth $3,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VALE. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Vale during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Vale by 423.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Vale by 44.7% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,702 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 2,502.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $12.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,175,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,993,260. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $11.73 and a 12-month high of $16.40. The company has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.81.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. The business had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.3182 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.52.

Vale 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.