Barings LLC Buys 85,715 Shares of Vale S.A. $VALE

Barings LLC raised its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 878,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,715 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $11,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 60.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 15,360.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $15.50 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.65.

Vale Stock Up 3.0%

Vale stock opened at $15.38 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.97 and a fifty-two week high of $17.94. The stock has a market cap of $69.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%.The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.53 billion. Research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at $209,268.90. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,575.04. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

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.