Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 399.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,107 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 423.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 2,502.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Vale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VALE opened at $12.60 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $12.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.72. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $16.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.96, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

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.