O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,200,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 127,885 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $10,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 215.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 206.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of VALE stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $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's 50 day simple moving average is $9.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.38 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.72.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VALE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.86.

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.