Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $12.02 Million Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,355,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,216,541 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Vale were worth $12,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Vale by 3,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,576,000 after buying an additional 17,720,100 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its stake in Vale by 60.6% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after buying an additional 8,288,112 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Vale during the third quarter worth about $80,300,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Vale by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,859,000 after buying an additional 6,660,933 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Vale by 395.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,152,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,889,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE:VALE opened at $8.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $14.47.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

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.