Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 68.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 111,536 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Vale were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 206.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 3,092.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Vale by 68.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised 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 target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.44.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,332,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,577,628. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.56 and a 200 day moving average of $9.64. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $13.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.3758 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale's payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

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.