Cohen & Steers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 861,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 127,444 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc.'s holdings in Vale were worth $7,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,852,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vale by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Vale by 16.8% during 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. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $9.10. The stock had a trading volume of 26,699,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,599,021. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.68. The company has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.03 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VALE has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.44.

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.