US Bancorp DE Sells 63,076 Shares of Vale S.A. $VALE

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 63,076 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Vale in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vale by 98.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Vale in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vale by 193.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vale in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of VALE opened at $11.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $11.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.90. The firm has a market cap of $50.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The company had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. Analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.3417 dividend. This represents a yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VALE. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vale from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upgraded Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Vale from $13.70 to $13.80 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.96.

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.