Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Sold by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 80,637 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vale by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,163,896,000 after purchasing an additional 32,864,929 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $848,677,000 after buying an additional 19,397,396 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Vale by 2,239.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $541,996,000 after buying an additional 39,818,066 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,961,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,526,000 after buying an additional 4,151,563 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 22,480,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $292,923,000 after buying an additional 208,128 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE:VALE opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.46.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.54.

Vale Company Profile

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.