182,364 Shares in Vale S.A. $VALE Bought by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 182,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,980,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Vale by 543.6% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,673,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413,537 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 25.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 7,947 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA boosted its position in shares of Vale by 7.2% during the third quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 22,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 368,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,002,000 after acquiring an additional 53,801 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VALE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 target price on shares of Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.21.

Vale Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Vale stock opened at $16.18 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.61. The company has a market cap of $71.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $16.22.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 67.69%.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.