State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $14.48 Million Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 912,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 55,076 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Vale were worth $14,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Vale by 44.7% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 18.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 803,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,766,000 after purchasing an additional 123,277 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $168,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale by 10.7% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 172,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 16,710 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VALE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

Vale Stock Down 2.5 %

VALE traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.07. 32,966,132 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,055,383. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $16.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.76. The stock has a market cap of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 19.10% and a return on equity of 20.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.48%.

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.