Allianz Asset Management GmbH Buys Shares of 20,000 Vale S.A. $VALE

Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VALE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Vale during the first quarter worth about $228,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vale by 193.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Vale by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 97,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 36,372 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Vale by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,463,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,608,000 after purchasing an additional 401,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vale by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VALE. HSBC lifted their price target on Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vale from $13.70 to $13.80 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Scotiabank raised Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 price target on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Vale to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.13.

Vale Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:VALE opened at $11.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Vale S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $11.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.04.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3417 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 59.35%.

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.