Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,685,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,205,280 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.52% of Vale worth $376,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vale by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL increased its stake in Vale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 25,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Vale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VALE shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.31.

Vale Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $14.79 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.81. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $9.36 and a twelve month high of $17.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $67.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.46.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%.The company had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vale

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.