Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 5,182 Shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,493 shares of the mining company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,182 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Palliser Capital UK Ltd lifted its position in Rio Tinto Group by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Palliser Capital UK Ltd now owns 989,417 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $58,188,000 after purchasing an additional 674,117 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,606,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1,773.2% during the 3rd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 426,922 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $30,384,000 after buying an additional 404,131 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 35.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,766 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $98,340,000 after acquiring an additional 358,630 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the fourth quarter worth $20,026,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on RIO. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of RIO stock opened at $59.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Rio Tinto Group has a one year low of $57.85 and a one year high of $74.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.91. The company has a market capitalization of $75.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. This represents a yield of 7%. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

About Rio Tinto Group

Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting.