Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Bought by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 469,036 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,278 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $5,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Vale by 5.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 73,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Vale by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $140,859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,660,933 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,300,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 15,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE VALE traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $9.48. 29,184,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,460,406. 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 fifty-two week low of $9.45 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The company has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 4.43, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.88.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.61 billion. Vale had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vale from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.91.

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.