Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,945 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Vale were worth $8,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VALE. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Vale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 16.8% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Vale by 215.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Vale by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $10.06 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.26.

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.