Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 111,536 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Vale were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 3,092.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vale by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $9.76. The stock had a trading volume of 30,351,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,599,482. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.66.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VALE. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.44.

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.