PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Position in Vale S.A. $VALE

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,720 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Vale were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,023,144 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Vale by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,541,000 after purchasing an additional 5,775,590 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Vale by 6,547.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,782,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,710,481 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,775,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vale by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,932,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,389,959 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $9.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.74. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $12.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.63.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. As a group, analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.84.

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.