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

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

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Vale by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 3,092.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Up 0.1 %

VALE stock opened at $9.12 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.66. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VALE. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.44.

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.