Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 716,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,713 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Vale were worth $6,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Vale by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 3,092.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VALE has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.84.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE:VALE opened at $8.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.81. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3758 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

About Vale

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.