110,000 Shares in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Purchased by ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 110,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,745,000. Vale makes up approximately 1.6% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,752,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,889,000 after buying an additional 3,092,376 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 10,837,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,876,000 after acquiring an additional 75,726 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Vale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,090,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $135,212,000 after acquiring an additional 111,826 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its stake in Vale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 9,254,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,007,000 after acquiring an additional 150,918 shares during the period. Finally, Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 11.7% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 8,694,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,505,000 after purchasing an additional 911,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.61. The company had a trading volume of 23,144,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,811,452. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.43 and its 200 day moving average is $13.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.97. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 19.59% and a net margin of 18.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 9.7%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VALE shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Vale 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.