Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Holdings Trimmed by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 67,338 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 3,092.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.86.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,632,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,051,259. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.38 and a fifty-two week high of $13.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.72.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

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.