Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,808,717 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VALE. Advisory Resource Group purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,434,000. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its position in Vale by 35.6% during the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 3,377,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,681,000 after buying an additional 886,214 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 5.3% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,080,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,978,000 after buying an additional 1,002,588 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 493.9% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 308,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after buying an additional 256,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kawa Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Vale by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kawa Capital Management Inc now owns 1,020,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after buying an additional 340,000 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $15.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 0.52. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $17.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. The company had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VALE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vale from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.18.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.