Paloma Partners Management Co Acquires 765,083 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 244.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,077,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 765,083 shares during the quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co's holdings in Vale were worth $9,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Vale by 16.8% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 89.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 35,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:VALE traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.37. 21,563,644 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,629,414. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.51 and a 200 day moving average of $9.57. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given 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 payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VALE shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.