Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 718,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 280,058 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Vale were worth $6,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 65,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 18,405 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter worth $710,000. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 53,611 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Finally, Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. lifted its holdings in Vale by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Dynamo Internacional Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 4,084,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,232,000 after buying an additional 1,314,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $9.56 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.47. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.75. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. CICC Research started coverage on Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.04.

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.