Man Group plc Purchases 3,363,941 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 193.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,100,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,363,941 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of Vale worth $45,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,661,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,023,144 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,022,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $9.79 on Thursday. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.52. The company has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VALE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.04.

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.