Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Sold by McIlrath & Eck LLC

McIlrath & Eck LLC decreased its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,624 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $39,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VALE. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Vale by 7.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 237,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 17,089 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 111,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Vale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 149,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares during the period. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC grew its stake in Vale by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 10,761,377 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $144,202,000 after buying an additional 6,660,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in Vale by 157.4% during the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 3,216,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,102,000 after buying an additional 1,966,707 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $12.48. 8,210,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,536,752. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.46 and a 200-day moving average of $13.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.97. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 9.7%. Vale’s payout ratio is 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

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.