Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 22,313 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 80.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,313 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Vale by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,951,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,868,000 after buying an additional 468,432 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Vale by 274.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in Vale by 723.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,035,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after buying an additional 1,788,205 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,422,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE opened at $9.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.98. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $13.68.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (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. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.3758 dividend. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale’s payout ratio is 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.