Carrhae Capital LLP Lowers Stock Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Carrhae Capital LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,749,987 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 460,917 shares during the quarter. Vale makes up about 2.3% of Carrhae Capital LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Carrhae Capital LLP's holdings in Vale were worth $20,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Vale during the second quarter worth $27,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vale in the first quarter valued at $49,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 133.7% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deuterium Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the first quarter valued at $122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.58. The company had a trading volume of 21,235,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,229,957. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $10.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.08. The company has a market capitalization of $47.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.93.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.97 billion. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. Analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.3698 per share. This represents a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. Vale's payout ratio is 64.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vale from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.15.

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.