OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Invests $1.66 Million in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 187,296 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vale by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,023,144 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,122 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 6,281 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $9,022,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Vale by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,017,355 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,504,000 after acquiring an additional 250,723 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VALE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. CICC Research initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.04.

Vale Stock Down 0.2%

Vale stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.80. The stock had a trading volume of 21,424,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,720,832. 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 $44.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. 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 $9.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.50.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3758 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 54.35%.

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.