Natixis Purchases 101,838 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Natixis grew its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 1,232.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 101,838 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Vale were worth $977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Vale by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Vale by 206.4% in the fourth 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. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vale by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $9.61. 17,729,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,570,012. 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 $8.06 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.62. The company has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders 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 a boost from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a yield of 7.5%. Vale's payout ratio is 54.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.44.

About Vale

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.