Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 758,593 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 44.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 935,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 758,593 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vale were worth $10,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its position in Vale by 6.9% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 17,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 1.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Vale by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vale by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE opened at $11.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $52.88 billion, a PE ratio of 6.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.3698 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a yield of 12.1%. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 64.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 5th. BNP Paribas raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

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.