First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $764,000 Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,678 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Vale were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 423.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 2,502.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Up 0.7 %

VALE stock opened at $12.61 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $16.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $56.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.97.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is 65.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

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.