Amundi Decreases Stock Holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO)

Amundi reduced its holdings in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,255 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 6,175 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $4,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Palliser Capital UK Ltd increased its stake 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 worth $58,188,000 after acquiring an additional 674,117 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,606,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,528,095 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,247,475,000 after purchasing an additional 485,731 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its holdings in 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. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Rio Tinto Group by 35.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,766 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $98,340,000 after buying an additional 358,630 shares during the period. 19.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RIO. Clarkson Capital raised shares of Rio Tinto Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Rio Tinto Group from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Rio Tinto Group Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of RIO opened at $63.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.43 and a 200 day moving average of $62.84. Rio Tinto Group has a 1-year low of $57.85 and a 1-year high of $74.24.

Rio Tinto Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $2.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a yield of 7%. This is a boost from Rio Tinto Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $1.77. Rio Tinto Group’s dividend payout ratio is 69.15%.

Rio Tinto Group Company Profile

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.