American Century Companies Inc. Grows Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,336,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 260,550 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.07% of Vale worth $29,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Vale by 274.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 119,061 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Vale in the third quarter worth about $1,422,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 17.6% during the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 469,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 70,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,605,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,550,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE opened at $10.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.61 and its 200 day moving average is $9.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.38 and a 12-month high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.03 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.3758 dividend. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 7.5%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VALE. Barclays cut their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.26.

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.