Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 2,103 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE – Get Rating) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,103 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in shares of Vale by 74.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 2,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Vale during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Vale by 17.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 86.2% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 20.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:VALE opened at $15.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.52. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $11.72 and a 52-week high of $21.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $72.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Vale (NYSE:VALE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.19. Vale had a return on equity of 43.41% and a net margin of 42.86%. The firm had revenue of $11.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.51 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3542 per share. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 6.1%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Vale from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $17.50 in a report on Thursday, February 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Vale from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, December 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.85.

Vale Profile

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Vale SA engages in the production and exportation of iron ore, pellets, manganese, and iron alloys. It operates through the following segments: Ferrous Minerals, Base Metals, and Coal. The Ferrous Minerals segment includes the production and extraction of iron ore, iron ore pellets, manganese, other ferrous products, and logistic services.