Natixis Advisors L.P. Buys 102,875 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 717,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 102,875 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Vale were worth $11,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 423.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Vale by 2,502.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.55. The stock had a trading volume of 18,088,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,505,977. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $16.08. The stock has a market cap of $56.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. The business had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VALE shares. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.67.

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.